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August 31st - 2010
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New study highlights strengths of financial services in Leeds city region
A new research study into the financial and professional services (FPS) sector in the Leeds city region concludes that the strong balance of employment in high skilled, high paid managerial and professional occupations coupled with customer contact roles provides key sources of resilience within the sector and that the sector makes an above average contribution to the local and regional economy.
Consequently, the Leeds city region, which has the UK's greatest concentration of financial services outside of London, should continue to be an attractive place to conduct business.
The study, undertaken for Financial Leeds by Bradford University School of Management, says the good mix of employment reflects two key benefits of operating from the Leeds city region; the ready access to competitive labour for process operations and secondly the breadth and depth of managerial and professional talent which is capable of both managing and driving business forward.
The research entitled 'Assessing Ability, Supporting Ambition' is the first study of its type into the employment characteristics and competiveness of the sector in the Leeds city region. The impetus for the report stems from the events of the global financial crisis and its impact on the vibrant FPS sector and the desire to identify the high performing, high value added sectors now and for the future.
Howard Kew, chief executive of Financial Leeds, said: "The report will be used to inform the industry and policy makers, to indentify the most economically important activities within the local financial services industry and to guide future strategies on employment, training and skills needed to promote future economic growth and prosperity which is determined as much by the quality of employment as volume.
"Basing a competitive advantage on high-skilled, high paid workers requires companies with ability and ambition. This report seeks to investigate that ability and support the ambition of all those involved in financial and professional services sector in the Leeds city region."
The report says that without a high performing, high growth financial and professional service sector, the gross value added (GVA) in the Yorkshire and Humber economy could be much worse. The FPS sector's high concentration of managerial and professional employment (over 50 per cent) is above the average for the Yorkshire & Humber region and even more marked in comparison with other sectors such as distribution and retail.
The concentration of managerial roles, high skills and earnings is not just confined to Leeds city centre but reflected in other districts such as Kirklees, Wakefield, Craven and Calderdale.
The study also looked at the competitiveness of different subsectors, interviewing senior managers in corporate and retail banking, accountancy, law and support services.
Generally there is a high degree of competition across all the subsectors, which not only helps create a vibrant market, but also enables the industry to compete effectively outside the region, attracting national and international business.
Response highlights include:
- The commercial banking sector will need more high skilled staff for large transaction business.
- Legal services are ultra competitive, leading to high levels of service and high quality work as firms seek to differentiate
- In accountancy access to skilled staff is generally good as is the supply of graduate trainees.
- Retail banking operates in a competitive national market and uses a large pool of skilled workers at all levels.
- The market for support services is varied and likely to grow.
Respondents in each sector stressed the importance of good transport links. At one level transport is important for moving talent around the city region on a daily basis from home to work. Second, since significant sections of the financial and professional services sector trade outside the region, access to clients, service centres, London, or other major centres of commerce is crucial to commercial success.
A full copy of the report is available on the website for members of Financial Leeds in the Document Library in The Hub. A summary is available to everyone in the Think Tank section of The Hub. If any non-members would like a full copy of the report please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/management/external/content.php?section=news&page=news091222
