Early-career hiring is under real pressure across the economy, and financial services sits inside that picture. Adzuna has seen a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT's launch, with graduates facing the toughest job market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. That squeeze shows up in other sectors too: in Engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a 9-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK.
The gap between junior and senior demand is the signal worth watching. When firms pull back on entry-level roles faster than senior ones, they shrink the pipeline that feeds tomorrow's brokers and underwriters. A fresh retail graduate route into broking runs against that trend, and that's exactly why it matters now.
Where firms do hire, they tend to reach for qualified people. In the Financial Services sector, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5 GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. In plain terms, RQF 6 sits at degree level, while 3 to 5 covers A-levels through to higher certificates. The pattern points to demand concentrated at the more qualified end.
That's the tension a graduate route into broking has to solve. Firms want degree-level capability, but they also need to grow their own talent rather than only buy it in. There's a clear shift towards training on the job: apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. If broking borrows that playbook, a structured graduate entry becomes a practical way to build RQF 6 skills in-house.
Start by separating the skills you can teach from the ones you need on day one. Broking rewards judgement, relationship-building and comfort with risk, and much of that grows with time. A graduate route works best when you define a clear path from entry to qualification, so a new starter can see how they reach RQF 6 and what support they get along the way.
Speed and clarity win here. The firms that build an early-talent pipeline today are the ones that won't be scrambling for senior people in five years. Treat graduate hiring as an investment in the pipeline, not a cost to minimise.
We built our AI recruiter to help you find the right person fast, then manage the whole process end to end. We search 15 million candidates, so a graduate route into broking can draw on a far wider pool than any single careers fair or job board. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you're opening a graduate route into broking this year, tell Reed.ai who you need and we'll get started today.
