Apprenticeships require at least 20 % of working time to be dedicated to training and development, something Jill acknowledges can initially give firms pause.
“ There’ s always that question of,‘ we’ re losing 20 % of an employee’ s time, how does that work?’” she says.“ But it’ s about taking a longer-term view, and looking forward. Where does this individual get to, and in essence what does that mean for the business in the future?”
Firms are also required to appoint a mentor and remain actively involved throughout the process, ensuring learners are supported and kept on track.
“ It’ s a significant investment, not just financially, but in time and commitment,” Jill adds.“ That’ s why we have those upfront conversations. It has to be right for both the individual and the business.”
What does success look like?
Ultimately, success will look different for every firm, but the outcomes share common themes.
“ For some, it’ s about having more qualified, competent staff,” says Jill.“ For others, it’ s becoming a more attractive employer with structured career paths. And for many, it links directly to succession planning.”
By enabling firms to develop talent, The Academy supports longer-term business continuity, helping firms look beyond immediate needs and plan for the future with greater confidence.
End-to-end support in practice
A key differentiator of The Academy is the breadth of support provided across the entire learner’ s journey. From recruitment, including access to initiatives such as Future Financial Adviser, through to onboarding, training and beyond, firms are supported at every stage.
“ We can help with everything from finding candidates, and carrying out background checks, through to the apprenticeship itself, and beyond, the full journey,” Jill explains.
Early feedback
Although still in its early stages, feedback from firms has been overwhelmingly positive.
For Jill, that response reinforces the importance of what The Academy is aiming to achieve, not just for individual firms but for the wider industry.
“ It’ s incredibly satisfying to know what kind of impact we can make in the industry and for our member firms” she says.
Looking ahead
While The Academy is still evolving, its role in helping firms address long-term challenges is already becoming clear.
For Simplybiz, the ambition is not just to support firms today, but to help shape a more sustainable future for financial advice. That includes continuing to develop the proposition to support advisers beyond initial qualification.
“ We’ re not stopping at just people going on these apprenticeships. As part of The Academy, we want to have a pathway built, so that when the graduates are coming out of the apprenticeship, we’ ve got a ready-made programme for the advisor pathways into a competent advisor program.” Jill explains,“ for example, you’ ve got your apprenticeship, you’ ve done your knowledge, skills and behaviours, and qualified, but you’ re still technically a trainee advisor. So you need to go through a competent advisor sign-off programme and we want to have that builtin, ready for graduates to step into that.”
Developing clearer post-qualification pathways, alongside ongoing support for Training & Competency, will be a key area of focus as The Academy continues to grow.
“ Ultimately, this is about the full journey,” she adds.“ From attracting new talent into the industry, to supporting them as they build their careers and become confident, capable professionals.”
As firms continue to navigate the challenges of recruitment, retention and succession planning, initiatives like The Academy have the potential to play a defining role in building the next generation of advisers and supporting the long-term strength of the sector.
If you would like to explore how it could support your business, you can arrange a short conversation with the team.
“ The biggest thing we’ re hearing is:‘ this has come at exactly the right time’,” Jill says.“ People are asking‘ how soon can we start?’ There’ s been a lot of interest and I believe we’ ve not even scratched the surface with it yet.”
July 2026 | 9