Britons lose out on European investment banking jobs

Candidates for investment banking jobs are being left behind by their better-educated continental counterparts, according to a survey conducted by headhunter Napier Scott.

The firm, which specialises in the equity and debt capital markets, analysed the profiles of just under 15,000 candidates on its database and found that non-UK citizens dominate jobs in areas such as sales, analysis and structuring.

The research showed that the most intellectually demanding and often the highest-paid positions are nearly four times as likely to be filled by a non-UK citizen.

Shaun Springer, chief executive of Napier Scott, said: &quotA number of top City of London jobs, in particular those involving a high degree of technical marketing that requires strong mathematical skills, are dominated by staff from overseas.&quot Banks want people with technical financial ability in addition to fluency in at least two languages, and it is hard to find this in most Britons, he added.

The search firm places candidates throughout Europe, although 59% of its jobs are in the City of London. Its research found that while 96% of the Europeans on its books spoke a second language, only 9% of its UK candidates could converse fluently in another tongue.

Europeans are also more likely to have been to university and stayed there longer. &quotUK citizens in the City of London are 10% less likely to have at least a first degree and 33% less likely to have a Master's degree,&quot said the headhunter.

Better qualifications translate into higher pay, according to the search firm. &quotThere are nearly twice as many high City of London earners from Europe than from the UK. Those who are from the UK are likely to earn at least 20% less,&quot said Springer.