Eamon McCarthy Earls

Boston companies can partner with public universities to create fintech skills pipeline

/0 Comments/in , /by Eamon McCarthy Earls
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Read this op-ed in the Boston Business Journal.

Financial technology, or fintech, encompasses a variety of new technologies, including algorithmic asset management, thematic investing, and cryptocurrency, which are set to have a significant impact on the 200,000 workers in the Massachusetts finance and insurance industries. Last year, The Boston Business Journal reported that finance and manufacturing were the only two industries in Boston that experienced declining headcounts—finance due in part to more automated fintech processes. Opimas, a consulting firm, indicates that 90,000 asset manager jobs will be automated by 2025, potentially spelling bad news for many asset management professionals in Boston’s own Financial District.

This and other alarming statistics, such as projected 60 percent declines in profits for companies that fail to implement fintech, as reported by McKinsey & Company, indicate that financial firms need to be preparing for the future. In a new report prepared for the Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based public policy think tank, I explored how public universities can boost skills and prepare students to meet the shifting demands of the industry in our region. But the responsibility to adapt rests with businesses as well.

Because fintech is new, there is often a lack of teaching material and expertise about it. Universities are inviting fintech executives to speak, and companies could do the same for internal training. Some leading private universities in the US, such as MIT, Harvard, Brandeis and others, together with schools internationally, are crafting fintech tracks and courses, and faculty at the Commonwealth’s public universities, such as UMass Boston and UMass Amherst, are joining the effort.

Boston firms will need to retrain many of their workers as well as rely on a steady supply of talent coming from our state universities. A collaborative approach to working with academia will help to boost the pipeline. Design thinking, communication and collaboration skills, as well as a broad understanding of the scope of new technology are very important for adapting the workforce for future demands. Project managers and other professionals combining business and technical aspects might focus on sharing insights with students. Even accountants adopting new ways of valuing businesses based on intellectual property could share their methodologies with students.  Firms could also design internships for undergraduate and graduate students focused on implementing fintech in the real world. As universities chart a course toward the fintech future, Boston financial firms must do the same and join them on the journey.

Eamon McCarthy Earls is a writer, researcher and town councilor in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Get Updates on Our Economic Opportunity Research

Read Pioneer’s recent report, Preparing Students for a Future in Fintech.

Related posts:

Josh Smith on Immigrants’ Role in Economic Recovery

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Josh Smith, research manager at The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, about his work to demonstrate the outsized impact immigrants have on the economy and our culture. Josh describes some of the the negative narratives and the "othering" of immigrants, even though they’re part of our communities. Despite repeated fears that each new migrant group would never assimilate, America remains a “nation of immigrants,” and this is its not-so-secret sauce - as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers.

Khamzat Asabaev Wants to Put a Smile on Your Face

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Khamzat Asabaev, refugee from Chechnya and cofounder of SoftSmile, a software tool that helps dentists provide affordable, quality orthodontic treatment. Khamzat pursued entrepreneurship to make basic services accessible to all, after experiencing a lack of access to basic care as a refugee and a minority. Refugees like Khamzat face terrible circumstances, but through resilience and fortitude, often make significant contributions to their adopted homeland, with higher rates of employment and entrepreneurship. That means they give back far more than we gave them, as you’ll discover in this week’s JobMakers.

Other People’s Money: Fair Share’s Populist Promises and Problems

This week on Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby about November’s Massachusetts Ballot Question 1, the so-called Fair Share Amendment. They examine both the merits and timing of a graduated state income tax, as well as the effects on society of creating separate categories of taxpayers, and the dangers of setting the many against the few.

Pioneer Institute Expects That Massachusetts Taxpayers Will Be Refunded $3.2B Due To State Revenue Cap

Pioneer Institute projects that the state will refund approximately $3.2 billion to taxpayers due to a state law sponsored by Citizens for Limited Taxation and voted on by taxpayers in 1986 that caps the amount of revenue the state can collect in any given year.

April Ryan Paints Her Way to Success

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with April Ryan, immigrant from Russia, founder and CEO of Red Iguana nail art products, and influencer to hundreds of thousands. April came to the U.S. from a poor town, speaking no English, but through tenacity and inventiveness, she achieved success by creating video tutorials of nail art, and developing a breakthrough product that became a bestseller in 19 countries.

What’s going on with the economy in Cambridge?

0 Comments
/
Dubbed the city of squares, Cambridge, a leading innovation center,…