Mortgage network Stonebridge Group launched a new recruitment programme for its appointed representative (AR) members .

The aim is to develop the next generation of mortgage advisers within the firms.

AR firms actively looking to recruit new advisers will be financially supported by Stonebridge who are attempting to help bolster numbers across the board. The support is available to those firms who are looking to recruit from outside the industry and will be used to fund each individual as they seek to gain their QCF Level Three Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP).

While the individual candidate will have to pay for the first module of the qualification, Stonebridge Group will fund the second and third modules. Prospective mortgage advisers will need to take the ifs School of Finance’s CeMAP qualification.

Post-qualification, Stonebridge says it will provide full monitoring and checks of the advice and work carried out by the new adviser until the individual is deemed to be able to advise without supervision of this nature.

Richard Adams , managing director of Stonebridge Group, said: “It’s quite clear that the number of qualified mortgage advisers is dwindling and therefore firms who want to expand their propositions are having to look outside the mortgage industry to find new recruits.