PwC to take on 100 people across Edinburgh and Glasgow financial services operations

Auditing and business services giant PwC is set to recruit more than 100 people into its financial services practice in Scotland.

The firm said its recruitment drive comes as the financial services industry “moves to accelerate its digital transformation”.

PwC, which currently employs more than 300 people in financial services across its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices, is expanding across its lines of service to support a sector which is worth some £13 billion to the Scottish economy.

The additional jobs also represent a 10 per cent uplift in the firm’s total headcount across Scotland.

Fraser Wilson, financial services leader for PwC Scotland, says the pandemic has forced the financial services sector to accelerate the rate at which it has to change.

Underpinning this growth in the largest sector of the Scottish economy is digital transformation, fintech - financial technology - disruption, the move to net zero and the recovery from the pandemic, the firm noted. When combined they represent a “huge opportunity for Scotland, its people, and their skills”, it added.

The move by PwC comes on the back of a recent report by the Financial Services Skills Commission, which indicated skills gaps are growing in the sector.

Fraser Wilson, financial services leader for PwC Scotland, said: “Like many industries, the pandemic has forced the financial services sector to accelerate the rate at which it has to change.

“Technology and the race to net zero have fundamentally altered the way the sector thinks and our role at PwC is to help enable that transformation.

“The demand for this runs right through our business and that’s why we’re recruiting more than 100 new people to work at all levels.

“Scotland’s financial services sector plays a fundamental role in the economy,” he added.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions