Initiative aims to address adviser shortage and skills gap
Broker firm Access Financial Services has launched a mentoring programme designed to support newly qualified advisers as they begin their careers in the financial services sector.
The programme’s official rollout comes after a six-month pilot that began at the start of 2025. During the pilot, Access FS provided training to 18 participants, including four advisers who previously worked in the company’s protection division.
“The idea for the mentoring programme was to help advisers who have just qualified,” said Nick Jones (pictured), mortgage sales and marketing director at Access FS. “It might feel as though it’s all downhill once you have your qualifications but, in reality, that’s where the journey starts. While they aspire to be Formula 1 drivers, the truth is these advisers only just passed their proverbial theory test.
“The programme will teach them practical elements: how to speak to a customer, how to assess someone’s position, how to establish what a customer really wants, and how to source and then recommend and advise. It’s a big undertaking but the pilot shows that it works.”
Access FS stated that the mentoring initiative forms part of a broader skills development strategy within the company. The firm’s Broker Academy recruits and trains candidates in-house to achieve CeMAP certification. Upon qualification, advisers are then enrolled in the mentoring programme to further develop their practical skills.
“There are so many people out there that who would excel in financial services if they knew about it,” Jones added. “Personal finance is not on the curriculum when you’re at school and everybody I’ve met in the industry has fallen into it – no one leaves full-time education wanting to be a mortgage adviser. So where’s the next generation of mortgage advisers going to come from if not from brokerages like ours?”
Brokerages across the UK are introducing similar mentoring and training initiatives as the number of mortgage advisers continues to decline. Industry leaders have expressed concern about an ageing workforce and a lack of new entrants, which are seen as key factors behind the shrinking adviser pool. According to Financial Conduct Authority data, the number of UK mortgage advisers fell from approximately 28,600 in 2019 to 24,400 in 2023. Adviser numbers have not exceeded 29,000 since a significant drop after the 2008 financial crisis, with the 2023 total about 47% lower than the 2007 peak.
“The big banks and building societies are letting people go and the average existing adviser is 53,” Jones pointed out. “What happens when they retire in 10 years? We need to be bringing the advisers of tomorrow on.”
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