A highly skilled, multilingual workforce

While the practical aspects of an attractive, flexible office space, with affordable costs, in a well-connected location are important for a growing financial services hub, these resources can be found in many parts of the UK. So, what were the other deciding factors in selecting Edinburgh?

For Sandy Brodie, it was the opportunity to tap into the highly skilled and diverse workforce available here in Scotland.

“We needed a location where there was talent across a broad range of areas. We enticed the wealth management arm of the business to come to Edinburgh with the promise that we could deliver the pipeline of talent they needed. And we succeeded.

“Language skills are a key requirement for the wealth management business. Often, we're looking for highly skilled people with legal or financial expertise who also speak several different languages. The cosmopolitan nature of Edinburgh and its attractiveness as a city means that we've always been able to find the talent we need.”

There are currently 52 different nationalities represented among the 600 staff in Edinburgh, a testament to the team’s success in recruiting a diverse group of people with expertise across a wide range of languages.

Why are they so successful?

Sandy comments, “We believe it’s a combination of the J.P. Morgan brand, the appeal of the location and, of course, the skills and resourcefulness of our recruitment team.

“This is a very young office, with 80% millennials on site. For them, J.P. Morgan represents a door to the world. They can learn the trade here, then apply it in any of our global locations. That's a very appealing opportunity to a talented young professional.”

Connecting with the financial services ecosystem

Since expanding its operations in Scotland, J.P. Morgan has continued to develop close connections with the wider financial services ecosystem in Scotland — establishing meaningful links with local communities, Scotland’s academic institutions, and working in partnership with local and national governments.

Adrian explains how these connections have been critical to J.P. Morgan’s success in Scotland.

“The universities are important to us as a source of raw talent and we've formed some close links. This means we've been able to influence the curriculum of financial services courses, so that graduates are well prepared for the world of work.

Investing in local communities

“We've been working collaboratively with the Scottish Government on a number of initiatives to help young people connect with employment, such as the Developing the Young Workforce programme. By contributing to these initiatives, we're connecting young people in Scotland with workplace opportunities. It’s a two-way process.

“We've also focused on the importance of technical skills by becoming a sponsor of Code Clan, an initiative to help young people develop the technical skills they need to succeed in today’s world.

“J.P. Morgan has also developed links with Enable Scotland, to help people with autism find employment in our organisation and we're working with Cyrenians and MCR Pathways, helping people on their journey into work.

“Our local community is one of the most important things to us. By working closely with the Scottish Government, we’ve been able to ensure that our philanthropic efforts have the most impact.”