In early October, Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid Partners ACCA Cymru/Wales and Xeinadin collaborated to host a roundtable on the future of accountancy skills in Wales and the evolving landscape of the profession.
With forecasts indicating a decline in vacancies in the sector over the next decade, the Chamber partners sought to bring together insights from businesses, educators and policymakers through the roundtable and explore how these organisations can work together to better attract, train and retain talent, particularly in light of changing expectations and skills gaps among new entrants to the profession.
The Global Talent Trends data released by ACCA earlier this year revealed that Gen Z accountants, the newest generation of professionals, have entrepreneurial aspirations. While 61% of UK Gen Z accountants have long-term goals to be their own bosses, there are opportunities for employers to attract young people to roles where commercial and innovation skills are prized attributes. Mental health and wellbeing also emerged as a key trend in the data and a priority for professionals when seeking employment.
What are the challenges facing both employers and talent?
Participants of the roundtable noted a deficit in soft skills, with interpersonal readiness perhaps hampered in recent years by the pandemic and a rise in digital-first habits. It was reported that graduates and apprentices often lack confidence in basic communication tasks such as phone calls, eye contact and client interaction, while presentation and networking skills were also underdeveloped.
The discussion suggested that a disconnect between education and workplaces could be contributing to the skills gap. Employers have reported that formal education does not adequately prepare students for real-world roles, while government-funded training programmes and apprenticeships are often misaligned with practical business needs and provide limited opportunities for employers to tailor their content to their requirements.
Following education, recruitment and retention challenges persist. Some candidates are unsure about committing to long-term career paths and ongoing study, leading to a high turnover during training contracts. For employers, traditional recruitment methods can often overlook candidates with potential but non-standard backgrounds.
What innovative initiatives can tackle these challenges?
For the future of the profession, outreach to schools is a viable option. Organised by The Cardiff Commitment in partnership with Cardiff Council, the ‘Open Your Eyes Week’ connects primary school pupils with local employers and professionals to help children discover potential career paths, while outreach to high schools involving presentations and hands-on projects gives students the chance to simulate real-world scenarios while developing essential skills. It was agreed that these initiatives should be expanded to other regions to replicate their success and help build local talent pipelines.
Flexible work models, like Barcud Shared Services’ 100-80-100 model, can be part of strategies to improve retention and attract diverse talent. Other initiatives such as delaying study requirements until recruits have settled, emphasising workplace culture and values, and tailoring job specifications to highlight foundational traits, individual strengths and inclusivity could make roles more attractive to prospective candidates who place value on wellbeing.
However, there needs to be better collaboration between education and government. Innovation is often limited by strict government criteria for funding, and funding streams are greatly needed to support bespoke training and soft skills development. Medr is now responsible for funding and regulating the tertiary education sector in Wales and aims to unify higher education, further education and apprenticeships in Wales. A consultation is under way to reform delivery models and progression routes for apprenticeships
What were the recommendations from the roundtable?
The roundtable, hosted by Chamber Partners Xeinadin, highlighted a shared commitment between businesses, educators and policymakers to ensure skills gaps are addressed and that the accountancy profession evolves with societal and economic dynamics as it is a fundamental profession supporting the Welsh economy.
Key recommendations for employers included engagement with schools and colleges to develop talent pipelines, reframing recruitment messaging and work models to improve attraction and retention of talent, and embedding soft skills training into onboarding processes. Educators were encouraged to collaborate with employers to align the curriculum with workplace needs, introduce practical modules to allow students to experience real-world scenarios and to identify potential in non-accountancy students who could thrive in finance careers. For government and policymakers, reform of apprenticeships and funding structures for training were top of the agenda.
While challenges persist, the roundtable demonstrated that there is strong momentum towards collaborative, inclusive and flexible approaches to development in the sector.
