Letter: Missing talent

Sir, It is very good news that the Professor Tim Congdon believes thousands of jobs will be created in the City (22 June). Two small questions: Where will they come from, and how qualified, or trained, will they be? The demands made on the City are growing in complexity, as are the opportunities. But City recruitment specialists like myself see a widening skills gap.

The transformation of open-outcry markets to screen-based trading means we need a more reflective, introspective kind of trader. Like other City jobs, real intellectual power and training is increasingly required if London is to maintain its edge.

There is always a shortage of very good people. I suggest three things are needed if the City is to find the right calibre of people and maintain its pre-eminence: closer co-operation between institutions and recruiters in defining and assessing the needs of both companies and candidates; a better-informed and more ethical recruitment consultant; and a joint initiative to determine what skills are needed.

TRISH COLLINS

Managing Director,

Exchange Consulting Group, London.