Apprenticeship Changes Risk Undermining the Next Generation of Professionals

When Kimiko joined my accountancy practice, Orange Umbrella, she wasn’t fresh from university with a CV full of internships or work experience. In fact, she’d already earned a degree in maths. She’d decided to take a year after uni doing a different job. While studying at university, she approached us to do a work placement, not really knowing what to expect. A little while later, after she finished her degree, she emailed and asked if she could explore a career in accountancy. 

She’s now on a degree-level accountancy apprenticeship, funded in part by the government, and is training to become a chartered accountant. But under the government’s proposed reforms to apprenticeship funding, people like Kimiko may be excluded from this route in the future. Why? Because she was over 22 when she began the qualification.

That’s not just short-sighted; it’s damaging.

What’s Changing?

The government’s new plan restricts public funding of apprenticeships (including degree apprenticeships) to those aged 16–21. Over 22? You’re still eligible, but only for a simplified, slimmed-down version of the training.

For employers like us, that raises major concerns. The existing system allows us to hire promising individuals of any age, invest in their development, and grow their capability over time. We already contribute 5% toward the cost of training via the co-investment model, but that’s just the beginning.

We also:

• Pay our apprentices a full-time salary.
  
  
• Provide one day a week of paid day release for study.
  
  
• Cover exam fees, study materials, and additional mentoring.

This adds up to thousands of pounds per apprentice per year, and we do it because it works. Apprentices stay longer, develop more quickly, and contribute significant value to the business. 

The idea that we would have to significantly top up costs just to offer the same opportunities to someone over 22, while also risking a reduction in the quality of training, feels like a step backwards. We mustn’t forget it takes an apprentice time to become an effective part of the team, so businesses are choosing a longer-term view with an apprentice versus someone with experience. 

Why It Matters

Let’s talk about the reality of modern career paths. Not everyone knows what they want to do at 18. Many test the waters in other roles, retrain, or come to professions like accountancy later in their twenties. We’ve had team members begin at Level 2 or 3 AAT qualifications, gain confidence, and later move to Level 7 chartered routes once they were sure of their path. But usually with this route the employee gains the well recognised AAT level 4 qualification before they even move onto their ACCA level 7 chartered route. 

This flexibility is what makes the apprenticeship system effective. If government policy limits full training to the youngest entrants, it assumes every 19-year-old has the certainty, and support to commit to a five-year journey. That’s rarely true.

What’s more, it risks creating a workforce where older entrants are expected to “prove themselves” without structured support or work unreasonable hours to juggle study and full-time roles. In the long run, that burns people out.

The Bigger Picture

There’s already a wider conversation happening about the regulation of the accountancy profession. If the government wants to improve standards and oversight, it needs to encourage more people into professional qualifications, not fewer. Removing funding for degree-level training in favour of a patchwork of lower-cost routes is inconsistent with that goal.

Ironically, some of the worst abuses in the accountancy space, such as umbrella payroll company scandals, are driven by unqualified operators exploiting loopholes. These operators would still be outside the scope of regulation and unlikely to offer any formal training. The people who would be hit hardest are ethical firms like ours, committed to training the next generation the right way.

There’s also a cultural risk. For example, not all team members want to pursue chartered status. Some choose to complete AAT Level 4 and stop, satisfied with a solid, practical grounding. Others aim higher. Under the current system, we can tailor training to suit the individual. But if Level 3/4 is defunded for older learners, and Level 7 is only funded for 21-and-under, we’re left with a narrow, all-or-nothing model.

This change could push employers to bypass AAT entirely, fast-tracking staff into Level 7 qualifications purely to access funding, whether they’re ready or not. I’ve found myself doing exactly that in my own business: with apprentices finishing AAT Level 3, I’ve been nudging them straight into Level 7 to keep the funding flowing.

We Need Flexibility, Not Rigidity

The decision to pursue a professional career doesn’t always happen at 18, and nor should it. Talent arrives in many forms and at different stages of life. Some of the best accountants I know didn’t follow a traditional path. I didn’t start my own journey until I was 29, having first built a career running a web development company.

Today, part of my work involves teaching Innovation at Northumbria University on a Chartered Management degree. Many of my students are in their 30s and 40s, already holding senior roles in organisations like the NHS and the police. And yes — they’re accessing degree apprenticeship training.

This isn’t just a small business issue.

Large organisations, including public services, once pushed back hard against a system that limited access to advanced training. That pressure helped create degree apprenticeships and Level 7 qualifications. And rightly so. Because when I teach innovation to someone working on the NHS front line or in policing, I know I’m not just giving skills to an individual — I’m contributing to making vital public services run better.

We should be removing barriers, not building new ones.

The proposed changes might save money on paper, but they risk cutting off opportunities, stifling diversity, and creating a system that fails both real businesses and real people.

It’s time to rethink.

Let’s keep funding meaningful apprenticeships, regardless of age, and invest in the kind of workforce we all want to see: skilled, motivated, and genuinely supported.