The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has revealed that most organisations in the pensions industry are now offering apprenticeship programmes.

The results are based on polling of SPP’s diverse corporate membership, which covers the whole spectrum of the pensions industry from actuaries, lawyers and investment consultants to administrators, trustees and covenant assessors.

According to the SPP research, 52% of firms in the sector now offer an apprenticeship, whilst 48% do not.

Of the firms that do offer a formal apprenticeship programme, the most stated advantage was that such schemes help to diversify their workforce (56%), whilst other reasons given include increased productivity, reduced staff-turnover and being a productive use of the Apprenticeship Levy.

Of those that do not currently offer such programmes, 27% plan to do so at some stage in the future whilst the remaining 73% have no current plans to do so. The reasons for not offering such opportunities range from having no current recruitment needs to focusing on graduate training programmes instead.

There are various formal apprenticeship programmes on offer. These range from IT, finance and legal apprenticeships to actuarial, administrative and governance focused roles.

As well as there being a diverse range of roles on offer, the level at which they are offered varies too – from level 3 (A-level equivalent) right through to level 7 (master’s degree equivalent).

Ian McQuade, an SPP member and Chief Executive at Muse Advisory, said,

“I didn’t follow the traditional University route and now lead a firm that has supported pension schemes responsible for more than 10 million members, and over £800bn in assets. I am pleased to see the majority of organisations in the pensions industry now offer an apprenticeship programme and don’t doubt that many of those who take this route will go on to become future leaders too."

"For employers not yet offering such schemes, this evidence highlights the many advantages of apprenticeships, from increased productivity and lower staff turnover to a more diverse workforce, better representing society and our customer base. For individuals, the benefits of earning whilst learning and getting practical, real-world experience are obvious, the avoidance of student debt will also be a big attraction for many but I think the biggest factor is being able to work in a diverse, thriving, welcoming and exciting industry.”