The rapid digitalisation of Malaysia’s banking & financial services provides more flexible options for banking consumers in Malaysia and aiding in the improvement of internal processes. However, there is a dearth in human resources needed to support the fast-paced development, according to recruitment experts Hays.

“The number of financial products and services that have moved online in just the last few years is monumental, and this is impacting every aspect of the banking & financial services sector in the country from product development, to contact centres and compliance departments,” says Natasha Ishak, Senior Manager, Banking & Financial Services at Hays Malaysia.

Skills in demand in Malaysia’s banking & financial services include:

• Network systems project specialists
• Infrastructure applications experts
• UI and analytics specialists
• Big data analytics

“While monitoring performance based on data derived from manual research is a thing of the past, now it is almost second nature that functions across the board must include digital and consumer analytics,” she adds.

The global recruitment firm also notes that banks have been keen on creating internal tech teams that include big data, user interface and analytics experts to digitalise both product offerings and internal processes. Network systems project managers and infrastructure applications managers are also in great demand.

In addition, fuelling the talent shortage is the fact that virtual banking is fast becoming a reality for the country.

“As industry players await up to three licensing guidelines for virtual-bank operations to be issued by Bank Negara by the end of 2019 or as soon as the regulation for the industry is finalised. In the meantime, adoption rates of e-wallets are fast rising. Although still at its infancy stage, there are many initiatives already launched to educate the masses, such as traditional marketing and in-app incentives,” notes Natasha.

“To address talent shortages, hiring managers have therefore been more open to recruiting candidates who do not necessarily have the full set of skills required for the position.”

Read the full Inside Story of Banking and Financial Services here.

Last updated on May 28th, 2019