In the past, junior employees learned the business of banking and finance through routine work that is now being automated at scale. That, however, does not mean employers are expecting less of junior employees. On the contrary, it means that new entrants must demonstrate judgment, interpretation, and business understanding far earlier in their careers.

In the past, academic achievement alone implied a fair degree of competence on the part of the new employee. Qualifications in accounting, economics, financial mathematics, and banking products were the prerequisite, and employers could then teach the practical application.

Today, employees must be able to show they can apply these skills to a business problem. In other words, employees must demonstrate financial literacy as well as the ability to apply their knowledge.

From an educational standpoint, that means a shift towards the use of case studies, simulations, and problems rather than simple knowledge transmission. There is a clear distinction between knowing about the business of banking and being able to operate intelligently within the industry daily.

It might be thought that because AI can calculate, analyze, and summarize at an industrial scale, traditional knowledge of financial fundamentals is less critical. In fact, the evidence almost suggests the opposite. The ability to interrogate and audit AI-generated work remains vital. The distinction is between the ability to perform a calculation and the ability to understand the calculation: the machine increasingly performs the calculation, but the employee remains accountable for the outcome.

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In parallel with AI, there exists a paradox: judgment is becoming more valuable, not less. The power of AI means that while the value of producing an answer has diminished, there is a rising value attached to the ability to determine whether the answer makes sense.

In other words, critical thinking and judgment assume a higher profile. This applies frequently and directly in banking because many decisions cannot be made safely when they are reduced to statistical optimization. Consider, for example, credit decisions. A junior employee reviewing that recommendation should assess whether the income assumption is reasonable and raise any concerns with a senior colleague.

The term ‘soft skills’ always implied something rather pejorative in a workplace context. Indeed, ‘softness’ is not something that comes to mind when negotiating with a difficult client, explaining risk to senior management, handling a vulnerable customer, or challenging a questionable decision.

The term “human skills” is more appropriate. As more routine and analytical work is automated, employers place greater value on how new employees communicate and work with others. This includes listening with empathy and building relationships, as well as presenting ideas and persuading others.

This makes sense in the world of banking and finance because the foundation of the business – and indeed its economic value – ultimately depends upon trust: the trust that exists between banker and customer, advisor and client, analyst and portfolio manager, risk officer and business manager or institution and regulator.

Finally, given the rapidly changing financial services landscape, adaptability and agility have emerged as top in-demand skills for early careers.

Professionals across the financial services industry need to adapt to new systems, altered workflows, evolving regulation, changing products, AI tools that may themselves change every few months, new forms of data, and frequently re-organized teams. It is a career that involves repeated reskilling.

Consequently, employers may increasingly assess candidates not only on what they already know but also on how quickly they can learn something new.

For professionals looking to develop the top skills for banking professionals, Intuition offers a range of tutorials from their digital learning libraries, Know-How, for financial skills, and Workplace Now for human skills. Here is a list of topics relevant to this article:

• FinTech – An Introduction
• AI Applications – Customer Service
• AI Applications – Trading
• Investment Banking – Backpack to Briefcase
• Retail Banking – Understanding Retail Customers
• Digital Banking – An Introduction
• Retail Banking – Customer Acquisition
• Sustainable Finance in Practice
• Open Banking & Open Finance
• Private wealth Management – Commercial Awareness
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving Skills
• Agile Thinking
• Emotional Intelligence