The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 94
B RO K E R B U S I N E S S
Opinion
People problem?
Gen Z could be
the answer
T
here is a stat doing the
rounds that should
raise eyebrows among
anyone with a stake
in the UK mortgage
market. According
to the Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA), the number of staff advising
on mortgages fell 11% year-on-year in
2024, dropping to 31,524.
The reasons are predictable enough
– from an ageing adviser population
to regulatory pressure that keeps
ratcheting up. Not to mention a
volatile few years that le a lot of
people thinking the grind wasn’t
worth it anymore. All of which makes
recruitment urgent. Enter Gen Z.
The ambition gap
It is easy to roll your eyes at another
article about Gen Z in the workplace.
They are seen as fragile, entitled and
unwilling want to work.
You’ve probably heard the
stereotypes, yet the data tells a
different story. Deloie’s 2025 Gen
Z and Millennial Survey found that
only 4% of Gen Z workers in the UK
cite reaching the top as their primary
career goal.
That sounds damning until you look
at what drives them, which is financial
independence (21%) and work-life
balance (18%). These are people who
define ambition differently, rather
than lack it altogether.
The problem is that the industry
keeps saying it wants young talent,
while young talent keeps leaving.
Gen Z workers are leaving across all
financial sectors, and it’s in the high
numbers. The industry is asking
people to stay in a structure that isn’t
built for them, then acting surprised
when they don’t.
Geing in is its own problem, with
CeMAP – the benchmark qualification
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The Intermediary | March 2026
held by roughly 80% of UK mortgage
advisers – running to several hundred
pounds in course fees. It is a cost
that needs paying before you have
earned a penny.
Once qualified, you still need
Competent Adviser Status under
supervision before you can work
independently.
None of that is unreasonable on
its own. Aer all, mortgage advice
is regulated for good reason. But the
combination of cost and time, plus the
expectation of prior experience, hits
younger entrants hardest, particularly
those without family money or
industry connections.
The ISE found that 1.2 million
applications were submied for just
17,000 UK graduate roles in 2023/24.
If the mortgage industry wants to
compete for these people, it needs to
make the path in clearer.
Network-led academies and
a growing number of firms are
helping that happen, having
launched training programmes with
guaranteed interviews aached.
These hold weight because they
address something the industry has
historically been poor at: making the
profession visible to people who have
never considered it.
If you didn’t grow up around
financial services, you would have no
reason to know that mortgage advice is
a viable, well-paid career.
Mentorship plays a role, too. Indeed,
the newer generation are sponges.
They learn from the likes of Liz Syms,
Mark Goldberg and Robert Sinclair, to
name a few. A word of context before
a client meeting, or a tip about how a
lender prefers things handled are the
moments that turn a qualified person
into a competent one.
Anyone who has been to an industry
event recently will have noticed the
MARTIN SIMS
is distribution director
at Molo Finance
change. The rooms aren’t exclusively
populated by people who have been
doing this for 25 years. There are
young faces, and they are not tentative
about being there. They read rooms
well and understand the industry they
have chosen to join.
What has shied, too, is what
professionalism now looks like. A new
cohort carry themselves differently,
but with no less intent.
Once a genuine source of anxiety,
succession planning is becoming less
theoretical and more reality. The time
has come.
When we present awards for Best
Newcomer or Best Rising Star, the
number, and quality, of nominees
speaks volumes.
Training strategies are working,
and networks are investing in
development earlier.
Lenders are engaging with rising
talent, before they have a decade of
experience behind them.
These awards are evidence that the
industry’s talent base is broadening.
The future is in safe hands, if the
investment continues.
But that investment must be
substantial. Goodwill and a few
token schemes cannot solve a
structural problem.
Entry-level roles should not require
years of experience, and support for
qualifications cannot rely on people
funding themselves. Employers are
looking beyond polished CVs and
notice potential, because the talent is
already instilled. ●
