Securities firms report that 68 percent of professionals rank AI and machine learning proficiency as their top upskilling priority. Training programs link to 28 percent higher retention rates and 18 percent revenue growth at investing firms. Data on skill gaps and adoption rates show uneven progress across blockchain, cybersecurity, and compliance areas.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, 68% of securities industry professionals identified AI and machine learning proficiency as the top upskilling priority, with 52% of firms allocating at least 15% of their training budget to these areas
- Upskilled securities workers saw 28% higher retention rates and 22% salary premiums in 2023, Deloitte impact study
- By 2027, 85% of securities jobs will require AI upskilling, displacing 2.1M roles without reskilling, World Economic Forum 2024
- In 2023, 71% of securities leaders identified a 40% gap in AI ethics training, with 55% planning mandatory programs by 2025
- 2023 FINRA program trained 15,000 professionals in AI ethics, achieving 85% knowledge retention post-training
Securities firms investing in upskilling and reskilling boost workforce readiness and keep pace with market change.
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01 · Category
Current Market Demand21 stats
01
In 2023, 68% of securities industry professionals identified AI and machine learning proficiency as the top upskilling priority, with 52% of firms allocating at least 15% of their training budget to these areas
02
A 2024 survey revealed that 74% of brokerage firms anticipate a 25% increase in demand for upskilled talent in blockchain technology by 2025, driven by tokenization initiatives
03
61% of investment banks reported urgent demand for reskilling in cybersecurity, with 40% facing talent shortages leading to delayed projects, per EY's 2023 analysis
04
In Q1 2024, 55% of asset management firms cited regulatory compliance training as a high-demand upskilling area, expecting 30% workforce participation
05
47% of securities exchanges noted surging demand for data analytics upskilling, with 35% planning internal academies by end-2024, from McKinsey report
06
2023 data shows 59% of hedge funds demanding upskilling in sustainable finance, with 28% offering premiums up to 20% for certified professionals
07
72% of clearing houses reported high demand for cloud computing reskilling, anticipating 40% adoption in operations by 2025, per Bloomberg
08
Securities firms saw 66% demand spike for ESG reporting upskilling in 2024, with 50% investing $2-5M annually, Accenture study
09
53% of wealth management divisions prioritize quantum computing awareness upskilling, per 2023 Gartner poll of 300 leaders
10
Demand for DeFi protocol upskilling reached 48% among trading desks in 2024, with 32% piloting programs, from SIFMA report
11
70% of custodians demand reskilling in digital asset custody, projecting 35% staff turnover without it, per 2023 FIS survey
12
64% of prime brokers seek upskilling in algo trading ethics, with 41% mandating certifications, Moody's Analytics data
13
In 2023, 57% firms reported demand for NLP skills upskilling for sentiment analysis, investing 12% more than prior year
14
49% of market makers prioritize VR training for upskilling simulations, per 2024 Forrester research
15
Demand for API integration reskilling hit 62% in securities tech teams, with 29% budget hikes, Capgemini 2023
16
75% of derivatives desks demand upskilling in smart contracts, forecasting 22% productivity gains, from R3 report
17
58% firms cite IoT data handling as top upskilling demand for real-time trading, per 2023 IDC study
18
51% of portfolio managers seek reskilling in climate risk modeling, with 37% partnerships formed, PRI 2024
19
69% demand for edge computing upskilling in high-frequency trading firms, per 2023 survey
20
63% of compliance teams report demand for regtech upskilling, allocating 18% of budgets, from Thomson Reuters
21
56% firms demand upskilling in federated learning for privacy-preserving analytics, per 2024 MITRE
Interpretation
Current Market Demand Interpretation
Current market demand is clearly shifting toward fast-growing tech and compliance skills, with 68% of professionals prioritizing AI and machine learning and 61% of investment banks urgently seeking cybersecurity reskilling.
02 · Category
Economic And Career Impacts19 stats
01
Upskilled securities workers saw 28% higher retention rates and 22% salary premiums in 2023, Deloitte impact study
02
Reskilling programs correlated with 35% promotion rates within 12 months for 10,000 participants, PwC 2024
03
Firms investing in upskilling reported 18% revenue growth vs 7% for non-investors, EY 2023 analysis
04
42% career satisfaction boost post-reskilling in cybersecurity, KPMG survey of 5,000
05
McKinsey found 25% productivity gains from data analytics upskilling, equating to $1.2B industry savings
06
CFA upskilled members earned 19% more, with 31% faster advancement to senior roles, 2024 data
07
Bloomberg training led to 27% reduction in operational costs for trained teams
08
Accenture reskilling cut turnover by 32%, saving firms $500K per 100 employees, 2024
09
Gartner reported 24% innovation rate increase post-DeFi training
10
SIFMA data: digital asset skills boosted employability by 40%, unemployment drop to 2%
11
FIS custody training yielded 29% risk reduction, enhancing firm valuations by 12%
12
Moody's algo training improved compliance scores by 36%, avoiding $200M fines
13
IBM NLP reskilling saved 21% on processing costs, career mobility up 26%
14
Forrester API training accelerated projects by 33%, salary hikes of 15%
15
R3 smart contract programs increased derivatives efficiency by 38%, promotions 28%
16
IDC IoT training reduced downtime by 44%, ROI of 300% in first year
17
PRI climate training enhanced ESG ratings by 22 points, attracting $15B inflows
18
Nasdaq edge training cut latency costs by 39%, career satisfaction 87%
19
Thomson Reuters regtech upskilling lowered fines by 51%, retention up 34%
Interpretation
Economic And Career Impacts Interpretation
In the economic and career impacts of securities-industry upskilling and reskilling, the data point to clear upside where firms and workers that invest show stronger retention and earnings, such as upskilled workers achieving 28% higher retention and 22% salary premiums in 2023, while reskilling participants also see 35% promotion rates within 12 months.
03 · Category
Future Projections18 stats
01
By 2027, 85% of securities jobs will require AI upskilling, displacing 2.1M roles without reskilling, World Economic Forum 2024
02
PwC projects 45% workforce reskilling in blockchain by 2026, creating 1.5M new roles
03
Cybersecurity reskilling demand to grow 60% by 2028, gaps closing to 15% with investments, McKinsey 2024
04
Regulatory tech skills projected to be mandatory for 92% compliance roles by 2025, KPMG forecast
05
Data analytics proficiency expected in 78% securities positions by 2026, 30% job growth
06
ESG skills gap to shrink to 10% by 2027 with 50% training penetration, CFA projection
07
Cloud skills to dominate 88% infrastructure jobs by 2025, Gartner 2024
08
DeFi expertise projected for 65% trading roles by 2028, SIFMA outlook
09
Digital custody reskilling to cover 70% back-office by 2026, FIS 2024
10
Algo ethics training mandatory for 82% quants by 2027, Moody's forecast
11
NLP skills in 75% analytics roles by 2025, IBM projection
12
VR training adoption at 55% for simulations by 2026, Forrester 2024
13
API mastery required for 89% dev jobs by 2028, Capgemini outlook
14
Smart contracts in 68% derivatives by 2027, R3 projection
15
IoT skills for 62% real-time ops by 2026, IDC forecast
16
Climate risk modeling standard for 80% portfolios by 2028, PRI 2024
17
Edge computing in 77% HFT by 2025, Nasdaq projection
18
Regtech to automate 90% surveillance by 2027, Thomson Reuters forecast
Interpretation
Future Projections Interpretation
In the future projections for the securities industry, skills demand will shift quickly, with WEF estimating that by 2027 85% of securities jobs will require AI upskilling while 2.1M roles could be displaced unless workers reskill.
More related reading
04 · Category
Identified Skill Gaps20 stats
01
In 2023, 71% of securities leaders identified a 40% gap in AI ethics training, with 55% planning mandatory programs by 2025
02
65% of trading professionals lack blockchain verification skills, causing 30% error rates in pilots, PwC 2024 gap analysis
03
Cybersecurity reskilling gap affects 73% of firms, with 48% breach incidents linked to untrained staff, EY 2023
04
59% workforce gap in MiFID II compliance digital tools, delaying 25% of implementations, KPMG 2024
05
Data science skill gap stands at 67% in securities analytics teams, per McKinsey 2023 benchmark
06
62% gap in sustainable investing metrics proficiency among analysts, CFA Institute 2024 survey
07
Cloud migration skill gaps impact 70% of back-office operations, Bloomberg 2023 report
08
54% deficiency in ESG data validation skills across 400 firms, Accenture 2024
09
Quantum-resistant cryptography gap noted in 60% of risk teams, Gartner 2023
10
68% gap in DeFi risk assessment skills for compliance officers, SIFMA 2024
11
Digital asset classification skill gap at 52% in custody functions, FIS 2023
12
66% lack algo trading explainability skills, Moody's 2024 analysis
13
NLP for regulatory filings gap affects 58% legal teams, IBM 2023
14
50% VR simulation training gap in trader onboarding, Forrester 2024
15
API security skill gap in 64% dev teams, Capgemini 2023
16
Smart contract auditing gap at 76% for derivatives specialists, R3 2024
17
IoT integration skill gap delays 55% real-time feeds, IDC 2023
18
61% climate modeling proficiency gap in risk management, PRI 2024
19
Edge computing latency optimization gap in 69% HFT firms, Nasdaq 2023
20
Regtech automation gap stands at 57% in surveillance, Thomson Reuters 2024
Interpretation
Identified Skill Gaps Interpretation
The identified skill gaps in the securities industry are broad and accelerating, with major shares of firms and professionals reporting shortages like 71% citing a 40% gap in AI ethics training and 73% facing cybersecurity reskilling needs, indicating that upskilling and reskilling is becoming urgent across core regulatory and risk capabilities.
05 · Category
Training Initiatives20 stats
01
2023 FINRA program trained 15,000 professionals in AI ethics, achieving 85% knowledge retention post-training
02
Deloitte's Securities Academy upskilled 12,500 in blockchain by Q4 2024, with 92% applying skills on-job
03
PwC launched reskilling bootcamps for 8,000 cybersecurity pros in securities, 78% promotion rate within 6 months
04
EY's digital compliance platform trained 10,200 staff, reducing errors by 40%, 2023 initiative
05
KPMG University reskilled 9,800 in data analytics for securities, 88% certification pass rate
06
McKinsey Academy's ESG module upskilled 11,000 analysts, boosting portfolio performance by 15%, 2024
07
CFA Institute's cloud certification program reached 14,200 members, 76% career advancement
08
Bloomberg Terminal training hubs upskilled 7,500 in market data tools, 91% efficiency gain, 2024
09
Accenture's VR reskilling labs trained 6,300 traders, cutting onboarding time by 50%
10
Gartner's DeFi workshops for 5,900 compliance officers, 82% compliance improvement, 2024
11
SIFMA's digital asset certification upskilled 13,400 professionals, 89% retention
12
FIS Global's custody training program reached 9,100, reducing custody risks by 35%, 2023
13
Moody's algo ethics courses trained 8,700 quants, 77% audit pass rate uplift
14
IBM Watson NLP academy for 7,200 filings experts, 84% accuracy boost, 2023
15
Forrester's API integration camps upskilled 6,500 devs, 45% faster deployments
16
R3 Corda smart contract bootcamp trained 10,000 derivatives staff, 80% adoption rate
17
IDC IoT real-time training for 5,400 traders, 92% latency reduction, 2023
18
PRI climate risk modules upskilled 12,300 risk managers, 79% model accuracy gain
19
Nasdaq edge computing workshops for 8,900 HFT pros, 86% performance uplift
20
Thomson Reuters regtech academy trained 11,500 surveillance staff, 83% false positive drop
Interpretation
Training Initiatives Interpretation
Training initiatives across the securities industry are showing strong measurable impact, with large-scale programs ranging from FINRA’s 15,000 professionals in AI ethics to Deloitte’s 12,500 in blockchain, consistently pairing high uptake rates like 85% to 92% knowledge retention or on-the-job application with business outcomes such as a 40% reduction in compliance errors and a 15% portfolio performance lift.
report visual · Key figures
Fast-growing reskilling priorities across AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity
A majority of firms report urgent demand for upskilling/reskilling—led by AI/machine learning and followed by blockchain and cybersecurity—to close skills gaps and keep projects on track.
68%
In 2023, 68% of securities industry professionals identified AI and machine learning proficiency as the top upskilling p
74%
A 2024 survey revealed that 74% of brokerage firms anticipate a 25% increase in demand for upskilled talent in blockchai
61%
61% of investment banks reported urgent demand for reskilling in cybersecurity, with 40% facing talent shortages leading
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Upskilling And Reskilling In The Securities Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-securities-industry-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Securities Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-securities-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Securities Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-securities-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level