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Generation of Employment Opportunities For Disciplines Other Than Finance

The history of exchange in human society was there from the very beginning of its evolution as human being. With the passage of time the human society started its journey towards civilization and the system of exchange started to get its shape as well. It was 6000 BC, the bartering system of exchange was introduced in our world by the tribes of Mesopotamia and was gradually adopted by the Phoenicians and then by Babylonian’s and so on. The Phoenician way of exchanging goods with the others located in different places was improved by the Babylonians. In the past, there was no money and so, the barter system was practiced though this caused more problems than it resolved and thus, it was eventually deemed obsolete and money was introduced. However, banks were not present at this time and the people usually had to deposit their money with certain persons responsible for safe-keeping so that they did not get affected by theft and were insured (CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN BANKING AND FINANCE, 2013). These people usually charged a fee for their own income and financing, slowly and gradually this deposit and withdrawal system evolved into the modern banking system we have today where instead of gold coins and such, notes are issued for ease of carrying and the same fees or in particular, interest is charged upon money. This interest is charged by most banks these days for the same reason i.e. income and facilitation.
A bank is basically an institution that deals in money by accepting deposits from the public to keep them in custody as well by advancing credits to the society, thereby mobilizing the savings of the economy for productive purposes. Thus it accepts deposits, lends money, creates money and bridges the gap between savers and the borrowers (Fitch, 2007).
Modern banking system has extended its reach to every economic activities performed in any economy. In fact the entire global economy is entirely dependent upon the modern banking system. Apart from generating interest income for the depositors and mobilizing savings to the entrepreneurs, the banking system has extended its operation to all facets of the economic activities like, investment, insurance, mutual fund, merchant banking etc (Fitch, 2007). to perform these tasks, apart from the commercial banks, there are various types of banks and financial institutions established for specific purposes like Development banks (formed for the purpose of providing support to the development activities of the nation), Rural banks (formed for the purpose of providing rural agricultural credits), Non Banking financial Institutions, Industrial banks etc. The nature of the banking industry also varies from country to country depending upon the need of the various kinds of developmental activities specific to that country. For instance, in an underdeveloped or developing economy, the co-operative banks, development banks as well as banks meant providing rural agricultural credits claim tremendous importance for the development of the economy (Haddock, 2001). However every nation has, generally, one central bank which controls and formulate policies for the functioning of the financial institutions being operated in that country. In the last twenty years, there has been substantial rethinking about how central banks should do their job. This rethinking has led to major changes in how central banks operate, and we are now in an era in which central banks act as the corner stone of formulating the major economic policies of a country. Price stability and financial stability through suitable monetary and fiscal policies as well as co-ordination in between the entire banking system and formulation of macroeconomic policies through the banking network are some of the major tasks performed by the central banks.
With the advent of trade and commerce as well as with the globalization of the world economy modern banking and financial institutions have started to play vital role to achieve the socio-economic objectives of the economy (VGM Career Horizons, 1994).
Financial services have become fundamental to economic growth and development. Banking, savings and investment, insurance and debt and equity financing help private citizens save money, guard against uncertainty, and build credit, while enabling business to start up, expand, increase efficiency, and compete in local and international markets. The financial services sector is the largest in the world in terms of earnings, comprised of a wide range of businesses including merchant banks, credit card companies, stock brokerages and insurance companies and others.
Large financial institutions and banks are engaging human capital development activities to expand the economic opportunities through various financial and business management training (VGM Career Horizons, 2001). These development schemes includes financial literacy programs for developing the business management and other skills related to the management of financial activities needed to run numerous activities, performed by the financial institutions to serve the community. These activities do not involve the operations that require knowledge in finance in a strict sense. The management of client relationship, marketing of the financial products like, insurance, units of mutual funds etc do involve an overall knowledge in finance, but expertise in marketing or public relationship are the basic demand that could be satisfied by candidates from various disciplines other than commerce or finance.
Almost every university graduate has heard the infamous adage of how they won’t find a job if they don’t have related background or experience. On top of that, to apply for a job that is not related to their field of study also seems like a risky thing to do.
For a serious industry such as banking and finance, there are not many students who have the courage to apply for a job without having related background or experience (Simpson, 1999). The prospect of having to handle business transactions, monies and not to mention finance jargon is enough to deter students of non-finance background to even consider applying for a job in this industry.
However, this is not the case. With its demand for human resources for providing various services, banking and finance industry plays a major role for creating employment opportunities of students of different streams belonging to science, commerce, finance, political science, social science etc.
The industry is not restricted to handling transactions and/or creating financial modeling. In this industry, there are departments such as the front office and the back office. The front office usually handles the customers upfront and it mainly comprises of cashiers while the back office indulges in the tracking of transactions, resolving disputes, rerouting checks etc. etc (Khan et. al., 2010). The back office usually requires its employees to work under tight deadlines and immense pressure because large amounts of transactions are done on a daily basis. Nowadays, banking system has been integrated with information technology and it no longer resides in the hands of those with the knowledge of banking and finance only. Hundreds of thousands of students are graduating every year in different fields such as IT, economics, social Sciences, political sciences etc. etc. and working in this field.
While the finance industry is a little tougher to break into without a finance background, most finance powerhouses now encourage new, inexperienced students to apply.
With students who do not have finance background, it is rather easy to train them accordingly so to fit the job. It is easier than those with a finance background because they are able to understand the subject matter from a different perspective for they are not bound with the typical finance theories and they are able to conceive and implement new ideas as well (Dictionary of Banking and Finance: Over 9,000 Terms Clearly Defined, 2009). Finance employers encourage this because they are always trying to make their firm a better and more advanced institution.
Students with non-finance background can also apply for other positions like team leaders, trainers, sales coaches and quality coaches because these positions monitor and manage the other aspects of banking and finance industry because as mentioned before, banking and finance industry is a large industry with many departments and components contributing to it as one (Khan et. al., 2010). Many finance institutions provide complete and professional training that will teach their employees the basics in banking and finance industry so that no matter where the employee is employed within the institution or gets promoted to a different department in the future, he will know the basics of banking and finance. This is a great chance for students of non-finance background to learn about this industry and grow into a top-performer employee (McKinnec, 2001).
More and more students with non-finance background are penetrating the banking and finance industry and they are doing really well. The opportunity of learning something new and exciting drives the students to perform and excel at their jobs. There are a lot of opportunities in the industry for it is large in scale as have been previously mentioned. A banker having a Bachelors or Masters degree is preferred and an accountant, who possesses a professional degree in accountancy, has a better chance and has more offers though this does not mean that those without a professional degree are eliminated from the industry itself. People entering this industry from a non-finance background are required because the industry, like any other industry, does not wholly rely upon one profession only and requires people from other professions for it to operate (McKinnec, 2001). If a bank or an accountancy firm requires a business operations manager then a customer relations officer which has a degree in public relations is also required to be part of the bank so that he may indulge with the consumer/customers via communication. A person who has a degree in arts can also write better-quality reports for the bank or the firm when compared to other individuals coming from finance/non-finance backgrounds. Information technology in itself is one of the most flourishing fields of the world and a person who has a degree in information technology is required by the bank/firm to perform various information technology operations including online network-security, linking up of various branches for the purpose of e-banking/e-commerce and producing software for the bank/firm so that it may operate smoothly (VGM Career Horizons, 1994). This industry also requires professionals that posses degrees in security and safety to ensure protection of their business and operations in order to prevent theft by robbers/thieves or to prevent corruption within the bank by the employees (Khan et. al., 2010). We may say that the security managers in banks and business firms are no less valuable than other technical staff. People who have degrees in designing are able to produce and design brochures, logos and pamphlets for banks and business firms for it is a known fact that even an institution such as a bank requires good marketing and advertisement and the impact of an advertisement wholly relies on its creativity. Legal advisors are among one of important professionals that work in this industry because they deal in all legal matters, issues and cases between these firms and their clients and persons who have a degree in law may apply and work in the bank under this department. Health care experts are also required for providing medical facilities to employees of this industry or to work in health care market of clients (VGM Career Horizons, 1994).
Students must assess their skills, and job requirement and then apply for jobs and boost up their career through hardworking because banking and finance industry is not a small industry and upholds the economy of several countries and the international economy. Talented and professional people who have an academic background other than in banking and finance may also enter the industry to turn their relevant skills into the success of the industry because several opportunities are available as I have mentioned above.
To conclude, in the era of this globalised economic activities the banking and financial institutions are playing the central role for the economic and social development of a country as well as to effect the smooth cross boarder financial transactions to sustain the trade and commerce around the world. To sustain such a wide range of operations and socio-economic activities, the modern banking and financial system requires human resources belonging to diversified fields and not only to the accounts and finance (McKinnec, 2001). To fulfill its designated tasks, the financial system requires lawyers, economists, technocrats, interpreters, marketing personnel, IT specialists, security personnel and many others. In fact without the service of these people, it is impossible for the modern finance industry to accomplish its objective of socio-economic development.

Filed Under: Banking And Finance Banking Careers Finance Careers Job Opportunites


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Ann

 

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Name: Ann
Uploaded Date: Apr 12,2014

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am a second year Business Management student at King`s College London. Half Swedish half German living raised in Switzerland, I am fluent in French, Swedish, Italian and obviously English. I have a fairly good level of German. I would describe myself as very enthusiastic and positive.Read More

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