A total of 128 key financial services companies in London took part during January and February of this year with 33% reporting that they are expecting to increase their temporary and permanent secretarial recruitment activity by the end of 2004. Salaries for those working in the sector are going up too, with pay increases of up to 5% expected in 2004.

The study has shown that secretarial and office support staff are amongst the most difficult to retain, with five years being the average time of service. Replacing office professionals has become more difficult with 63% admitting difficulties in recruiting staff with the right skills sets – a worrying increase of 8% on 2003. Skill shortages were most prevalent within accountancy & finance and insurance claims.

If you want to work in this sector and have the right skills, you should explore investment management, insurance claims, insurance underwriting, financial services sales and banking operations which are the main areas of expected growth, compared to last year. The most successful recruitment methods for sourcing secretaries were found to be recruitment consultancies, employee referral schemes and the use of company websites.