Payments firm to train future fintech leaders with new partnership

The global talent shortfall is weighing on industries everywhere, despite widespread efforts to mitigate the problem.

A Korn Ferry study last year said a talent deficit of 85.2 million workers can be expected by 2030–that’s greater than the current population of Germany. The impact of such a shortfall is one of missed opportunity: US$8.452 trillion of unrealised annual revenue, to be exact.

For scale, that’s equivalent to the combined GDP of Germany and Japan.

Of all the sectors affected, Korn Ferry said financial and business services would be the hardest hit, with a talent deficit of 10.7 million workers and unrealised output of US$1.313 million. 

Businesses large or small operating within the sector are already seeing this happen. Recruitment has become a competitive bidding war, and the companies with the deepest pockets offering the most attractive remuneration packages always win.

This places the industry in an increasingly untenable position; without the right talent, innovation will be slow, costing them their competitive edge in an industry disrupted by technology.

Worldpay, a global leader in the payments space, has worked out a solution to fill its talent needs.

This fall, the Symmes Township-based firm will move into the 1819 Innovation Hub, the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) new enterprise centre in the Uptown Innovation Corridor in Avondale, Ohio. The firm joins the likes of firms like Kroger, Cincinnati Bell, P&G and Cincinnati Financial as charter partners. 

From its new outpost, Worldpay will leverage its close proximity to fresh talent from UC to not only train up future fintech experts, but also advance its innovations in the payments space. 

Worldpay currently processes more than 40 billion transactions annually–more than any other acquirer in the world. The firm focuses on enabling payment methods, fraud protection and delivering data-driven insights for businesses.

According to a press release, Worldpay will be employing students every semester to work from its 1819 office on new fintech applications and other projects. 

“If you consider how consumers pay for things and how that is constantly evolving, it means companies like Worldpay need to be heavily focused on innovation and embrace change or fall behind,” said Worldpay President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Heimbouch. 

“That is why the relationship between UC and companies like Worldpay, Kroger and P&G are so important. It allows us, together, to be ahead of the curve—creating tech and not just consuming it.”

This is not the first time Worldpay has connected with a university. The firm already partners with UC and other schools via its TechBright programme, which is designed the increase the number of students, especially women and minority groups, pursuing degrees related to the technology sector.

Worldpay has also provided scholarships to students in UC’s School of Information Technology and College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and regularly sponsors the university’s hackathon, RevUC, as well as the School of Information Technology’s Early College Program, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Senior Design Showcase and School of IT’s TechExpo. 

In addition to that, since 2016, the firm has offered full-time employment to more than a third of interns from UC working with it. It was this long relationship with the university that paved the way for Worldpay’s move to 1819.

Already familiar with the school’s over 55 IT programmes offered across eight different colleges, the firm saw an opportunity to deepen its relationship in a mutually beneficial arrangement: Worldpay would get access to talent while UC students would get valuable industry experience.

“The struggle for talent is real among startups, mid-size organizations and billion-dollar companies like Worldpay. UC can help, as we do strategically every day, quickly connecting our partners to students, research and ongoing educational resources,” UC Chief Innovation Officer David J. Adams said.

“Talent has choices, and the more UC can demonstrate that our region is a place where innovative companies thrive, the more likely we are to see that talent choose Cincinnati as a place to stay.”