Do you ever wonder why a career may keep you engaged and entertained for decades? To both of us, the financial services industry was our natural choice because of the training and the dynamic working environment that it offers. And we are not alone; more than 250,000 other professionals have chosen to build their future in and are devoted to this industry in Hong Kong¹.

A career in finance allows you to develop a broad spectrum of skills. There are the obvious ones -- like the knowledge of financial reporting and commercial acumen -- but it also offers the soft skills that will lead you to long-term success and personal development. In many finance-related careers, it will allow you to develop such transferable skillsets as effective communication, resources management, and critically analysing situations to solve complex problems.

A bonus layer of excitement stems from the dynamic nature of the financial services industry. No matter which area you specialise in, you will delve into a fast-paced environment where innovation is an everyday occurrence, enabled by cutting-edge technologies or other exciting encounters with market participants. At a time when “work” is in a state of flux that may lead to considerable anxiety with good reason, such working environment will allow you to grow professionally, whereby you will become a true problem solver and drive a truly rewarding career.

When we engage with the industry, practitioners always call for more support for talent development for the financial services industry, which explains why human capital initiatives are a very dear subject to the mission of the FSDC.

As we approach the middle of the fall semester, we are hosting our flagship FSDC Career Day 2019 in the morning of 26 October at the HKEX Connect Hall. As in previous years, there will be a keynote speech followed by two panel discussion sessions, featuring seasoned practitioners who will share their stories and advices on working in different sectors. To ensure that student-participants will get a taste of how various sub-industries function, speakers will come with experiences in such conventional sectors as investment banking and private wealth management, as well as the tech/digital-related sectors, such as virtual bank and virtual insurance. Similar to last year, the Career Day will also feature a CV clinic session where HR professionals provide one-to-one advice for students on their resumes.

The FSDC will continue to organise the Practitioner Speakers Series (PSS) this year in collaboration with local tertiary institutions, covering thematic topics such as FinTech, as well as human capital demand and development. Targeting at tertiary students, we hope the PSS, in conjunction with the other initiatives, can help enrich their understanding of evolving trends of the financial services industry.

In addition, freshly approved by the FSDC Board of Directors, we will be launching the FSDC Talent Amplifier Programme (TAP). Students taking part in the TAP will get a glimpse of the day-to-day challenge facing senior executives, as well as the culture and working environment of some reputable organisations, through shadowing a C-suite executive from a financial institution for a full day. Application details will be announced shortly on the FSDC website and the FSDC LinkedIn page, so do check regularly for more information.

We look forward to meeting you in one, if not all, of these events!

¹ According to Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistic from Census and Statistics Department HKSAR statistics in August 2019, as of 2018, the financing & insurance industry employed 263,000 individuals. https://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B10100022019MM08B0100.pdf