DESPITE Northern Ireland being among the world’s top locations for fintech investment, four in five students say they've never even considered a job in a sector worth more than a third of a billion pounds annually to the economy.
In a survey carried out by price comparison website CompareNI.com, half (52 per cent) of respondents said they had little awareness about the fintech sector and what it entails.
And a further quarter of students surveyed said that they had not considered a job in fintech due to a lack of relevant experience, while 31 per cent said that gaining relevant experience was the biggest pressure they faced in higher education.
According to recent analysis by Deloitte, the fintech sector in the north employs 7,000 people at 74 companies and contributes £391.5 million a year to the region's economy, with the potential to create thousands more jobs and generate at least £25 million in foreign direct investment for Northern Ireland in the coming years.
As a result of its findings CompareNI - whose parent company Seopa was founded in Belfast in 2003 by the Northern Irish entrepreneur Greg Wilson - has launched a new fintech scholarship.
It is being pitched at a diverse range of students from across the academic syllabus who may have never considered a career in the financial technology sector.
The successful candidate will receive a £1,000 bursary which can be used to cover part of the cost of their studies, course materials or any other living expenses as well as the option to take part in industry related work experience at CompareNI.com.
Managing director Ian Wilson said: “Fintech is a booming industry in Northern Ireland, contributing millions to the economy each year and with the potential to create thousands of jobs, yet there is a large talent shortage and a lack of awareness around the sector, as reflected in our survey results.
“The sector offers great prospects for graduates from all industry backgrounds, and not only do we want to underline the potential in this, but we also want to provide the winning student with real hands on career experience to discover what it would be like to work in such a flourishing sector.”
He added: “We need bright young talent from across the curriculum in Northern Ireland to fill these roles and create teams with diverse skill sets - creating pivotal change and driving innovation within the sector. I encourage students from across Northern Ireland to explore fintech and apply for this opportunity.”
Last year’s winner Kenna White, an environmental science student from Ulster University at Jordanstown, wrote an intuitive piece entitled Bitcoin’s Environmental Parlay – touching on the sustainability factors influencing the fintech sector.
The deadline to enter the CompareNI fintech scholarship is March 30 (details at https://www.compareni.com/fintech-scholarship.htm)
