West Midlands colleges secure £2.5m share to improve fintech education

Colleges West Midlands has secured a share of a £2.5m grant designed to improve fintech education opportunities across the region.

The consortium, made up of 18 of the region’s colleges, was supported by Birmingham-based SuperTech, the UK’s only body dedicated to greater use of technology in professional and business services.

The initiative will see colleges engage with SuperTech and major financial firms including BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Wesleyan and Paragon Bank to develop new industry-focused FinTech courses.

The move follows the results of last year’s Kalifa Review of UK Fintech, which established Birmingham as a “major hub” and identified improvements in fintech focused on further education nationally, as a way to ensure continued growth through access to talent.

A study by independent research firm White Cap Consulting in 2020 revealed that the Fintech sector in the West Midlands contributes £411.7m of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the regional economy and employs 7,377 people.

The initiative is led by SuperTech and BMet, home of the Greater Birmingham Professional Services Academy, with funding from the Department for Education’s Skills Development Fund, supported by fintech insight specialists Whitecap Consulting.

SuperTech and BMet are now actively looking for more fintech and financial services firms to help create short courses that will ultimately help them fill skills gaps and continue to grow.

Hilary Smyth-Allen, SuperTech Head, commented: “FinTech is one of the region’s fastest growing sectors, with a high number of scale-up businesses. To attract further investment and ensure businesses can continue to grow, we need to ensure we upgrade our workforce .

“This strategic partnership will create courses that are closely aligned with the needs of businesses to help fulfill high value jobs and provide opportunities for West Midlands residents.”

Suzie Branch-Haddow, vice-chancellor for external development at the BMet, added: “This is a transformational opportunity for us in the further education sector.

“By leveraging innovation funding, we are developing new programs to meet the needs of the booming FinTech sector both in the region and across the UK. All of this helps underpin the important role of further education in supporting regional business growth.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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