KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): Almost eight out of every 10 employers in the financial services industry in Malaysia are struggling to find talent, according to two new research reports by the Asian Institute of Finance (AIF).

The reports, titled Talent Gaps in the Financial Services Industry in Malaysia and Skills Gaps in the Financial Services Industry in Malaysia present the results of surveys conducted with over 3,200 finance professionals across banking, capital markets, Islamic finance and insurance in Malaysia.

“Based on our extensive industry research, 76% of employers in the country are struggling with talent shortages and more than half of these organisations say that this problem will continue to hinder organisational growth over the next three years,” AIF’s chief executive officer Dr Raymond Madden said in the statement today.

The survey findings reveal that the financial services industry is facing acute skill gaps, with financial service professionals found to be lacking in the skills needed for their organisations to grow and compete.

The AIF survey results show that currently half of all Malaysian hiring managers and human resource directors cite the lack of a competent and skilled pool of candidates as a major reason for the acute shortage of talent they are experiencing.

“We believe this research raises important considerations for the financial services industry in planning for future growth.

“In addition to putting in place measures to up-skill their workforce, organisations should also be influenced to reassess their talent needs in terms of strategic focus. These are issues that we are exploring at the AIF symposium over the next two days,” Madden added.

AIF is hosting an international symposium for today and tomorrow themed "Bridging the Talent Gap" to address the growing talent shortage in the financial services industry.

AIF is a think tank jointly established by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia to enhance human capital development and talent management across the financial services industry in Asia.