Nearly half of the UK’s financial professionals are looking for a new job according to new industry research.

The poll also suggests that employers must invest more in continuing professional development and skills training if they are to attract talented financial workers.

A nationwide survey of over 2,000 finance professionals carried out by recruiter Robert Half Finance & Accounting revealed that 44% of finance professionals are looking for a new role, with 12% actively job hunting.

Career development was the biggest driver in persuading people to move on, while pay increases and improved work/life balance were also cited as reasons for looking for a new job.

Phil Sheridan Accounting managing director at Robert Half Finance said: “Our survey reveals that the most important thing to finance professionals is career development opportunities. So if employers are to keep the best

talent they must help with their staff’s development.

“Companies should look to invest in training to help staff build new skills, establish mentoring programmes, and assign staff more challenging projects."

However this level of dissatisfaction did not apply to the sector as a whole with 71% of finance workers stating that they were planning to stay in finance or accountancy until they retired.