How Regulated Firms Are Using Compliance Apprenticeships to Grow Their Own Talent

Written in partnership with Study Academy, a UK compliance training provider launching Level 3 and Level 6 compliance apprenticeships with the ICA.

The UK's regulated firms have been busy competing for the same small pool of experienced compliance, risk and financial crime professionals. Meanwhile, regulatory change hasn't slowed, and the number of people with the technical knowledge and practical judgement to handle the shift hasn't kept pace.

More firms are now running a second route alongside external hiring. They're developing compliance talent from within, using apprenticeships paid for through the apprenticeship levy. Below we look at why that's catching on, which qualifications sit behind it and what the funding looks like from August 2026.

Why experienced compliance professionals are hard to hire

We see the same pattern across most of our recruitment mandates. The strongest demand (currently) is for those who pair a recognised qualification with several years of hands-on experience, especially in financial crime and operational risk, where omnipresent talent shortages take their toll.

Those professionals are rarely looking, and when they do move jobs, they have more than one offer on the table.

It's hardest at the senior end. When we map the market for a Head of Compliance or MLRO, the realistic shortlist is often small, and most of the people on it learned their trade inside someone else's compliance team, usually at a firm that took the time to develop them. Firms that do the same today are, in effect, training their own future shortlist.

External hiring will always be part of the answer, but our longest client relationships suggest it works best as part of something bigger. We've worked with one specialist lender since 2017, and in that time we've placed its MLRO and compliance managers as well as the AML advisers coming up beneath them. Hiring at both ends of a team like that builds more than a strong senior bench.

It gives the firm people who already understand its risk appetite and its regulator, and who could be leading the function one day. Not every firm can hire at every level, every year. A compliance apprenticeship gives them another way to build that pipeline, using a budget many of them are already paying into.

The compliance qualifications employers look for

A formal qualification gives employers a consistent benchmark and gives professionals a clear route to progress. In compliance and financial crime, the International Compliance Association (ICA) is one of the most widely recognised awarding bodies, with certificates and diplomas from entry level through to senior specialist, covering areas like anti money laundering and governance, risk and compliance.

ICA qualifications are also built into the two compliance apprenticeship standards in England. Each standard requires the apprentice to complete one professional qualification chosen by the employer, and ICA certificates and diplomas are among the options. So an apprenticeship can give an employee a recognised industry qualification and structured workplace learning at the same time.

Compliance apprenticeships explained

There are two apprenticeship standards designed specifically for compliance and risk roles. Both are open to new recruits and existing staff, as long as the apprentice is learning new skills, and there's no upper age limit.

Level 3 Compliance and Risk Officer

The Level 3 apprenticeship is the same level as A levels. It's aimed at new entrants and junior staff, including operations colleagues moving into compliance, in roles like Compliance Officer, Risk Officer, Financial Crime Officer and AML Analyst. It typically takes 15 months, includes at least 326 hours of off the job training and has a funding band of up to £11,000.

The programme covers the legal and regulatory framework, including the FCA Handbook, along with operational risk, financial crime, KYC, conduct risk, complaints handling, compliance monitoring and fair customer outcomes.

Level 6 Senior Compliance and Risk Specialist

The Level 6 apprenticeship is at the same academic level as a bachelor's degree, although it doesn't award a degree. It's designed for experienced professionals who are moving into management or are already there, in roles including Compliance Manager, Financial Crime Manager, Operational Risk Manager and Risk and Controls Manager. For senior leaders, it's a structured way to develop future Heads of Compliance and MLROs from inside the firm.

It typically takes 36 months, with at least 557 hours of off the job training fitted around the day job, and has a funding band of up to £23,000. The content includes designing risk and compliance frameworks, financial crime, Consumer Duty in practice, data protection and emerging technology risk, ESG and sustainable finance risk, and governance and audit.

Our partner Study Academy is launching both programmes soon, with the ICA as end point assessor, and is currently lining up launch employers.

What employers pay

The table below shows what employers contribute for apprenticeships starting from August 2026, based on the maximum funding bands. Funding applies to apprentices based in England, and the final price is agreed with each employer.

Employer situation	Level 3 (up to £11,000)	Level 6 (up to £23,000)
Levy payer with funds available	£0, paid from the levy	£0, paid from the levy
Levy payer with no funds left, apprentice aged 25 or over	25%, £2,750	25%, £5,750
Non-levy employer, apprentice aged 25 or over	5%, £550	5%, £1,150
Any employer, apprentice aged 16 to 24	Fully funded	Fully funded

 

Sources: GOV.UK apprenticeship funding and Skills England funding bands for ST0362 and ST0363, figures from August 2026.

How the apprenticeship levy works now

The apprenticeship levy is a charge of 0.5% of an employer's annual pay bill. It applies to employers with a pay bill above £3 million, who get a £15,000 annual allowance. The government now calls the reformed system the Growth and Skills Levy, but the charge works the same way.

Several rules changed from August 2026, as set out in the GOV.UK apprenticeship funding rules, and they change how quickly firms need to act. New funds entering levy accounts now expire after 12 months rather than 24, and the government's 10% top up is no longer added to them.

Levy payers can still transfer up to 50% of their annual funds to other employers, for example supply chain partners or smaller firms, which is one way to stop money going unused. Non-levy employers may also be eligible for a £2,000 hiring payment when they take on a new apprentice aged 16 to 24, for apprenticeships starting from October 2026.

Levy funds that aren't used within a year are lost, often by the same firms paying a premium to hire experienced compliance staff. An apprenticeship puts that money to work building the team instead.

Broadgate's advice to hiring managers

If you're weighing up apprenticeships alongside your usual hiring, here's where we'd start.

• Check your levy balance and when it expires. Funds that came in from August 2026 only last 12 months, so it's worth knowing what's due to lapse before you plan next year's hiring.
• Look at who's already in the building. Operations and first line colleagues often make strong Level 3 apprentices, because they already know your products, customers and systems.
• Think about who could step into your senior compliance roles in three to five years, and whether the Level 6 could get them there.
• Plan for the time as well as the cost. Off the job training and line manager support take real hours, so agree how the team will cover them before anyone starts.
• Keep hiring experienced people where you need them now. An apprenticeship won't fill an MLRO vacancy this quarter, but it can make the next one easier to fill.
• Hiring and developing together

The strongest compliance functions we work with don't rely on one route for recruitment and long-term scalability. They hire experienced specialists for the expertise they need now, and develop people internally for the expertise they'll need next.

"Succession in compliance doesn't happen by accident. When we're asked to find a Head of Compliance or MLRO, the strongest candidates are almost always people a firm invested in years earlier. Apprenticeships give employers a structured way to make that investment now, rather than relying on the market to have done it for them."

Ben Adams, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Broadgate

"Demand for skilled compliance professionals keeps growing, and the firms that do best combine great hiring with developing the people they already have.

Specialist recruiters like Broadgate bring in the experienced talent a team needs today, and a compliance apprenticeship builds the next generation alongside them. Levy payers with funds available can cover the full cost from their levy, and with unused funds now expiring after 12 months, now is a good time to put that money to work."

John Loveday, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Study Academy

"These apprenticeships give employers a structured way to develop new and existing staff into qualified compliance and risk professionals, combining real work experience with independent end-point assessment by the ICA. It is a route that raises standards across the whole profession, and firms of every size can now access it."

Bill Howarth, Director of Education, Study Academy, and former President of the ICA

Next steps

If you're considering compliance apprenticeships for your team, you can register your interest with Study Academy ahead of the launch.

If you need experienced compliance, risk or financial crime professionals now, or support with a senior appointment, speak to Broadgate's compliance and financial crime team. And if you're earlier in your career, have a read of our reasons to start a career in compliance.