Since 2023 the ASA has acted as learning partner to the Advice Workforce Development Fund.

As part of this work, our latest research explores workforce capacity, focusing on five areas: recruitment, retention, training, peer support and supervision.

Drawing on insights from over 60 interviews, a call for evidence, conference sessions and focus group discussions, the report highlights challenges to building workforce capacity as well as opportunities.

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The report at a glance

What this review covers

• Workforce capacity of London’s advice sector. Focus on five areas: recruitment, retention, training, peer support, supervision.
• Commissioned under the Advice Workforce Development Fund (AWDF).

London’s advice workforce is under sustained pressure. Rising demand, increasingly complex client need, and long-term underinvestment in skills, supervision and career pathways have created a structural deficit that no single organisation can solve alone. This review identifies a coherent set of actions that—taken together—can stabilise, strengthen and sustain the workforce over the coming years. What is required now is a combination of immediate practical steps and long-term structural reforms,  coordinated across funders, networks, policymakers and agencies.

Headline challenges

• Recruitment: Marketing deficit; few qualified applicants; unclear entry/progression routes; low pay; insecure contracts; best practice resources needed.
• Retention: Burnout and wellbeing challenges; lack of progression; pay and conditions lagging behind comparable sectors.
• Training: Fragmented, costly, inconsistent; unclear pathways and standards; deficits in supervisory and leadership training.
• Peer support: Patchy, especially for small, equity-led agencies; time pressures limit access.
• Supervision and IFR: Uneven quality and capacity; lack of shared frameworks and time in funding models.
• Equity-focused, by-and-for and smaller advice services face particular and acute challenges in all above areas.
• The challenges are structural and systemic. They require sector-wide, collaborative and strategic interventions. Networks, umbrella bodies, equity-focused networks, funders and policy makers need to work together to deliver solutions.

Immediate priorities

• Strengthen recruitment and entry routes: Expand funded traineeships, apprenticeships and structured placements; embed inclusive recruitment and accessible community-led training pathways.
• Protect retention, wellbeing and working conditions: Ringfence supervision and learning time; invest in wellbeing and leadership support; develop a locum pool to relieve pressure and support staff development.
• Improve access to training: Create a central training directory mapped to shared competences and qualifications, with bursaries for essential training and supervisor development.
• Strengthen supervision and quality: Roll out a supervisor development pathway; develop IFR and peer review pilots; introduce shared templates, workload tools and guidance.
• Boost peer support and reduce isolation: Coordinate adviser, supervisor, CEO and trainee peer networks, with stipends and backfill so small and equity-focused organisations can take part.

Long-term structural reforms

• A London Advice Strategy and Workforce Funding Compact: Funders and commissioners need to align around full cost recovery, multi-year investment and shared expectations for supervision, training, wellbeing and progression.
• Phased Workforce Infrastructure (“Hub-Light” to Workforce Hub): Begin with shared
  tools, supervision and IFR resources, recruitment guidance and training coordination. Expand to brokerage functions, IFR pools, traineeship pathways and ultimately a fully developed London Advice Workforce Hub.
  A Training & Qualifications Strategy: Develop shared competences, role profiles and mapped training pathways; influence NOS reform; ensure accessible routes from entrylevel roles to advanced and specialist positions.
• Leadership, culture and succession planning: Invest in leadership development, organisational culture, coaching and succession planning, particularly for smaller and equity-focused  organisations.
• Technology and workforce intelligence: Develop ethical approaches to AI tools that can
  reduce administrative burden; create shared workforce data to inform planning, advocacy
  and investment.

Who needs to act

• Funders and commissioners must change how advice is funded—embedding multi-year,
  full-cost recovery contracts and resourcing the training, supervision and wellbeing the workforce requires.
• Policymakers should recognise advice as essential civic infrastructure and integrate workforce planning into health, housing, employment and inclusion strategies.
• Networks and umbrella bodies must coordinate training, supervision pools, IFR pilots, peer learning and shared recruitment resources, ensuring equitable access across the sector.
• Advice agencies should protect supervision and learning time, adopt shared standards and tools, participate in peer networks and develop internal progression pathways.

The case for action

The cost of inaction—lost staff, reduced service capacity, inconsistent quality and rising unmet need—is already visible across London. By contrast, the benefits of coordinated investment are clear: a stable, skilled, diverse and motivated workforce capable of meeting Londoners’ needs.

The solutions in this report provide a realistic and sequenced pathway forward. What is needed now is shared commitment and collective resolve.

Download the report