As energy trading heats up, banks are spending more on IT systems to support it and tech professionals with energy knowledge are in short supply.

Stumbling equity markets are prompting investment banks to look for other sources of fat returns, and energy trading is seen as an increasingly lucrative area.

Most banks are buying in over-the-counter (OTC) systems from vendors like Open-link and Trayport, which enable them to connect to end-units like inter-dealer brokers. This means that banks don’t want developers, they want people to integrate the systems.

James Davies, head of trader systems at Trayport, says there’s a lot of noise being made about the complexity of integrating of Energy Trading and Risk Management (ETRM) systems into investment banks. Of the firm’s 15 bank clients, all of them have chosen to buy a platform for OTC market access.

He says: “It comes back to the complex nature of the underlying assets. You need staff with a better range of skills – you can’t just take someone who has experience in stocks and expect them to integrate these processing systems.”

Benjamin Riley, senior consultant at Huxley Associates, says the buzzword in this area is Endur – Open-link’s energy trading system – and there’s a dearth of talent in this area because of the relative infancy of the industry.

“ETRM consultants with a number of years' experience will know a lot of the top configurers, business analysts and project managers out there, so they will also be able to help with the recruitment expansion within those firms and are therefore in massive demand,” he says.

Pay isn’t to be sniffed at. At the senior end, with business development responsibilities, Riley says ETRM consultants command salaries of a maximum of £85k.

What can be done to alleviate the talent shortfall? Simon Masters, head of recruitment at Trayport, says banks are focusing more on training, and are recruiting professionals with experience in other sectors, such as pharmaceuticals.

He says: “It’s sometimes the case that a role requires a broad range of skills. So a company has to look at what they can find and what they’re willing to train on, which in turn is not only an issue about recruitment but also retention.”