For National Apprenticeship Week 2026, Kez Condy caught up with PP Editor Natalie Dawes, to share her experience retraining as a paraplanner via an apprenticeship, whilst raising her daughter.
When we talk about apprenticeships, the image that still dominates is a school‑leaver tentatively stepping into their first ever role. Tap ‘apprenticeships’ into your browser and even with the progress that has been made in this arena, you’ll see hard hats, teenagers, and minimum‑wage stereotypes, which is hardly a fair reflection of what modern apprenticeships offer.
I love a bit of myth-busting, and one that definitely needs a little attention is that apprenticeships are no longer, and should never have been, just for 16–18-year-olds.
Kez’s story illustrates this perfectly. Kez began her paraplanning apprenticeship at 39, with a young daughter, a full career behind her, and a determination to build something new.
As we mark National Apprenticeship Week, her journey shines a light on a truth our industry needs to embrace – apprenticeships can work at every age. For a profession crying out for talent and employers in need of structured ways to bring brilliant people into their business, apprenticeships might be one of the most underused tools we have.
An unexpected fresh start
For most of her career, Kez had been on the provider side of financial services, working for some well-known companies. After more than 15 years, Kez was made redundant, and as much as this was naturally unsettling at first, she saw it as something positive.
“I thought, this is a good opportunity to retrain. I still wanted to work in financial services because that’s all I know, but something different.”
She secured a role in a local advisory firm, stepping into the world of advice for the first time. On day one, she spent time shadowing different teams.
She knew about advisers and administrators, but when it came to sitting with a paraplanner, it felt new. In fact, she’d never even heard of the word ‘paraplanner’.
“I had no idea what a paraplanner was,” she told me. “I thought the advisers did all the legwork – I didn’t realise how much went on behind the scenes.”
A colleague gave her a whirlwind overview of what paraplanners do. The technical research, the analytics, the rationale building, and the puzzle‑solving that sit behind every suitability report.
Kez was hooked. “As soon as I knew what paraplanning was, I thought, that’s it. That’s what I want to do.”
Discovering apprenticeships
After progressing into a report-writing role, the firm announced it would be offering two places on a paraplanning apprenticeship. Kez decided to apply, but not without hesitation.
“I did think, am I too old for this? As far as I knew, Apprenticeships were for plumbers and 18‑year‑olds earning £85 a week, at least that was my mindset.”
She laughs now, but it does reflect that widespread misconception we mentioned earlier. Many still believe apprenticeships are an early‑career option only. Kez’s experience dismantles that myth completely.
Kez was accepted onto the apprenticeship scheme, and she started her two-year programme at 39. Today, she’s a highly knowledgeable, skilled and respected paraplanner, all qualities that have been nurtured via the apprenticeship route.
Framework to succeed
One theme that came up repeatedly as Kez talked about her apprenticeship experience, was the framework and way the invaluable support she received was delivered.
“Having the structure of the exams and the off‑the‑job learning was brilliant,” she explains. “Someone checking in on your progress, that accountability, I needed that.”
Her employer, Navigatus, embraced the whole process as well, ensuring that the off-the-job hours were protected, and Kez could focus on the areas she needed to when she needed to.
“My manager, Aleks, was incredibly supportive. Off‑the‑job learning was real learning, not just doing your job and trying to write a reflective statement about it.”
The support from her apprenticeship training provider also made a marked difference. Kez was encouraged to attend study days and workshops and had a tutor that she could call on any time for guidance and help through exam preparation, as well as encouragement when self-doubt set in.
Kez openly admitted that she didn’t think she would have passed the exams without the apprenticeship. “Life gets in the way, especially when you have a family.”
Practical, real-life learning
Even with my background supporting learners through their exams, I have always said that exams alone do not give you everything you need in the real world.
Apprenticeships can fill those gaps where theory and practice reinforce each other, through the partnerships that are formed between the learner, the employer and the training provider.
Kez highlighted this further, too. “You could complete every exam and still not be able to paraplan. You need that exposure to real-life client scenarios and real context. There’s nothing like practical experience to help something make sense.”
The contextualisation of the learning made Kez’s training more meaningful and supported her to build her confidence over time.
Apprenticeships help build soft skills
Beyond technical understanding, Kez says the programme developed her discipline, organisation and communication skills, which she now sees as essential for paraplanners.
“Having to gather evidence, write reflective statements, and cross‑reference everything taught me discipline, and paraplanning is all about attention to detail.”
This is often an overlooked benefit of apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are designed to build knowledge, but in addition, role-relevant skills and behaviours too.
A message our industry needs to hear
Kez’s story is not just inspiring, it’s instructive. Financial planning firms often default to hiring graduates, experienced paraplanners, or young trainees, and whilst this is something that should continue, we need to encourage mid‑career apprentices too, because they bring something uniquely valuable.
Many, like Kez, can bring broad professional experience, maturity, resilience, as well as lived experience that can inform and give context to client work.
Looking ahead
Having been through the apprenticeship route herself and really seen the value it can offer for both apprentices and employers, Kez is eager to help train Navigatus’s next recruits.
“I’d really like to be involved in developing new people. I just want more people to take up apprenticeships because I think they’re great – it was exactly what I needed to become the paraplanner that I am today.”
As National Apprenticeship Week reminds us, apprenticeships are ‘skills for life’, not skills for a specific life stage.
Kez’s journey proves what our industry must embrace – apprenticeships are not second-best to academic routes. They are not only for school‑leavers, nor are they low-level or low value.
We’ve seen it with Kez and with many others – that they can be transformative at age 18 or at age 40. I think that’s another apprenticeship myth busted!
Main image: jeshoots-com-pUAM5hPaCRI-unsplash
