The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Futureproofing Fife’s Fintech workforce
Scotland’s first Fintech Skills Academy has been launched in Fife.
A consortium of international financial technology firms together with the region’s college, Fife Council and Fintech Scotland joined forces at the academy’s inaugural meeting at Paywizard in Kirkcaldy.
The aim is to provide highly qualified applicants for the growing number of specialist roles in fintech in the kingdom.
Jim Tomaney, of academy founder member Renovite Technologies, said: “As Scotland’s Fintech sector grows so does the demand for people with the right skills.
“To avoid the emergence of a skills gap, as we’ve seen happen in several other STEM industries, we’ve developed an innovative plan to pre-emptively plug it.
“The Fintech Skills Academy programme will help candidates successfully prepare for new roles while, at the same time, helping employers by improving candidates’ understanding of the standards Fintech employers want. It’s a win-win scenario that we hope will be replicated nationwide.”
Matthew Jones, solution architect for Ingenico Group, added: “Our aim is to help provide that extra bit of experience and training through the skills academy, so when this generation of workers retire, the next generation will be ready.”
The academy will start to run courses from January.
FinTech Scotland CEO Stephen Ingledew said a skilled labour force was essential for the sector to grow.
He said: “It is very poignant that the academy is being launched in Fife which has a deep heritage of innovation in financial services, especially in the category of payments, and I am delighted the initiative is being unveiled at the start of FinTech Fortnight.”