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:

Aki Balogh on How U.S. Diversity Drives Business

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Aki Balogh, immigrant from Hungary and cofounder of MarketMuse, which created an artificial intelligence powered content intelligence and strategy platform; and cofounder of dlc.link, which aims to decentralize Bitcoin. Moving to the U.S. after fleeing post-communist Hungary, Aki and his family did whatever they could do to survive, and that included delivering newspapers and phone books, and even starting a computer repair business at 15, as a young teen.  Today, Aki is a pioneer in content intelligence technology and has created more than 90 jobs in the past eight years.

Chet Manikantan: Innovation Machine

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Chet Manikantan, immigrant from India and founder of Aegis Studios, which builds crypto games. Chet was founder of a string of companies and a partner at two venture firms, but he was almost denied the opportunity to innovate and create jobs in the U.S. by our outdated immigration system, if not for a chance encounter that led to a workaround for select foreign-born entrepreneurs. And he’s keenly aware and grateful that this country gave him what he needed to succeed, as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers podcast. 

Pedro Zamora on Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Kansas City

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Pedro Zamora, executive director of the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Greater Kansas City. Pedro and his organization work on initiatives that are crucial to the economic vitality of the area, and they’ve helped more than 4,700 businesses. Immigrants there are having an outsized economic and cultural impact, and so Kansas City is yet another example of how localities can bounce back and benefit from immigrants and refugees, as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers podcast.

Survey of Business Sentiment: MA Income Tax Hike Would Lead to Employer Exodus

Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Massachusetts business leaders think business associates will leave the state if a constitutional amendment appearing on the November ballot to hike taxes is successful, according to a survey conducted by Pioneer Institute.

Looming Budget Crisis Reveals MBTA’s Dependency on Federal Funds

0 Comments
/
The MBTA is about to lose federal funding at a critical moment when ridership has not yet recovered. Will the state make up the difference?

Mei Xu on the Slow Burn to Success

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Mei Xu, immigrant from China and founder of Chesapeake Bay Candle, which was acquired by Yankee Candle parent company Newell Brands for $75 million. Mei describes the journey to entrepreneurship, including a rough start, with dashed dreams and miserable timing that forced her to create opportunities for herself. Today, she seeks to empower women business owners around the world, to show them that they too can expand economies and horizons with a little guidance.