The New Model Business Academy is reapplying for funding to launch a paraplanning apprenticeship after it was forced to pause plans earlier this year.

NMBA, part of the SimplyBiz group, launched a financial advice apprenticeship in April with funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

There are currently 40 candidates in the programme.

It was also planning to launch paraplanning and administrator apprenticeships but received just over half the government funding for the apprenticeship programme it was hoping for and, as a result, those two initiatives were spiked.

NMBA now says it is applying for more funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency this week.

NMBA director Tom Hegarty says there is increasing industry demand for paraplanning training.

He says: “We are applying for a funding increase. [The agency] provides us with a budget, which we have to try and deliver and maximise the places in our programme to use the funding we’ve been allocated.”

Hegarty adds: “We are seeing a demand for an apprenticeship in paraplanning and we haven’t been delivering that yet because we don’t have the budget.”

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In December last year NMBA was awarded £218,000 from the government agency.

However, financial modelling for the apprenticeship programme – including the financial advice, paraplanning and administrator programmes – was initially based on 100 apprentices starting their training with NMBA up to the end of March 2019, which would have required funding of £412,000.

Hegarty says the launch of the paraplanning apprenticeship could be within a few months of receiving additional funds.

NMBA is also considering a mortgage adviser apprenticeship depending on time and budget.

NMBA says more than 2,000 copies of its “Young Person’s Guide to Money” guide, which is part of a financial education initiative with M&G Investments, Brand Financial Training, Zurich, Vanguard and BMO Global Asset Management, have been handed out.