Talent with these new capabilities have tended to be short in supply. The demand for such talent with the new competencies and skills is made even more complex and challenging by the changing character and nature of the talent itself. Firstly, there is now greater mobility of the talent within industries, between industries and across borders. No longer can organisations rely on employment to retirement. The potential for retention has become challenging with the motivation of the workforce now becoming highly different. Among the factors that are important for the new generation is for the job to be interesting, challenging and fulfilling. They are drawn to greater engagement with the leadership, greater empowerment and being accorded greater exposure and potential for future development. A lack of recognition of the changes in the motivation of the new generation of the talent will not only present itself as a major challenge for human capital management but it is also likely to affect the harmonisation and cohesiveness of the organisation and its overall performance. Talent in the financial sector Let me say a few words about the specific talent challenges in the financial sector. The structural changes taking place in the financial system and the recent global financial crisis has and continues to drive dramatic change in the financial industry. Financial institutions are facing increased regulation, greater uncertainty in the operating environment, uneven competitive conditions and a severely damaged reputation in many parts of the world. These developments have important implications for the financial services workforce.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: The changing face of talent Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the AIF (Asian Institute of Finance) International Symposium 2013 “Changing face of talent”, Kuala Lumpur, 28 August 2013. *  *  *  It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the AIF International Symposium on the Changing Face of Talent. In preparing for the future, a future that is going to be fundamentally different from the current environment, talent development and its management will need to be accorded with an even greater priority than previously. This is on account of two significant shifts in the landscape that we are operating in that will fundamentally affect the human capital that we need. The first is the rapid and significant transformation of the economic, financial and business landscape which will continue to have far reaching changes on the talent requirements. The second is the changes in the character and nature of the talent that is now coming on stream. These emerging changes have warranted new approaches to human capital development and management. To not recognise these changes and their implications will not only affect business performance but also the overall economic progress of a country. My address this morning will briefly discuss the fundamental changes that are affecting the financial and economic landscape and its implications for talent requirements. My remarks will then proceed with some reflections on the changing nature and character of the talent that is coming on stream.