Accountancy apprenticeships
Discussion
Thanks for all the comments 
She's been looking for an apprenticeship since finishing her A levels and hasn't had much luck, this is the first offer in 3 months.
Ideally she would get a position in a proper accountancy firm, however roles like this don't seem to exist. Another problem is that for junior roles a lot of places want the candidate to have previous experience. Yes, this role will probably not be ideal and has very low pay but she will get the chance to obtain an AAT qualification and get the all important work experience at the same time. If she treats it as a first step on the career ladder then that can't be a bad thing.
She's been looking for an apprenticeship since finishing her A levels and hasn't had much luck, this is the first offer in 3 months.
Ideally she would get a position in a proper accountancy firm, however roles like this don't seem to exist. Another problem is that for junior roles a lot of places want the candidate to have previous experience. Yes, this role will probably not be ideal and has very low pay but she will get the chance to obtain an AAT qualification and get the all important work experience at the same time. If she treats it as a first step on the career ladder then that can't be a bad thing.
We haven't received the paperwork yet, but she will be studying 1 day a week at a company that handles the apprenticeship side of the job. As far as I can tell, they are essentially a recruitment agency that also have training/education facilities and they handle the education side of the apprenticeship. They found her the job at TaxAssist.
Edit: I think it's an AAT level 3 that she will be studying for - she's away this weekend so I can't find out for sure.
Edit: I think it's an AAT level 3 that she will be studying for - she's away this weekend so I can't find out for sure.
The whole point of working and studying at the same time is that the employer and employee are 100% clear on what the "education package" entails. She needs to know how many days off she is allowed for attending courses (sometimes called Block Release") and how she will fit the exams into her working arrangements.
Old style "articled clerk" arrangements always laid out these terms and conditions in black and white.
Old style "articled clerk" arrangements always laid out these terms and conditions in black and white.
Time for an update. She spent a year doing an apprenticeship (on a shockingly low salary) with long hours mainly due to the commute and has just qualified AAT level 3. Even better news is that she is about to start a new job at McLaren on a vastly increased salary (£1k a month better off!) with almost no commute as we live about 3 miles from them. It's taken a while, but her hard work has paid off and she has a great opportunity to take her career forward
Special thanks to Krisdelta for letting us know about the McLaren job
Special thanks to Krisdelta for letting us know about the McLaren job
rasto said:
Time for an update. She spent a year doing an apprenticeship (on a shockingly low salary) with long hours mainly due to the commute and has just qualified AAT level 3. Even better news is that she is about to start a new job at McLaren on a vastly increased salary (£1k a month better off!) with almost no commute as we live about 3 miles from them. It's taken a while, but her hard work has paid offand she has a great opportunity to take her career forward
Special thanks to Krisdelta for letting us know about the McLaren job
Taken a while?? It's only been one year!Special thanks to Krisdelta for letting us know about the McLaren job
These youngsters want everything yesterday...
Joking apart, it sounds like she's done fantastically well and landed a great position early on in her career.
Well done rasto junior.
Plus the two years she did at 6th form 
The accountancy A level was probably a mistake really as the AAT level 3 covered the same ground however when she started 6th form accountancy was her backup plan and it only kicked in as her way forward when she decided that marine biology and university wasn't what she wanted.
The accountancy A level was probably a mistake really as the AAT level 3 covered the same ground however when she started 6th form accountancy was her backup plan and it only kicked in as her way forward when she decided that marine biology and university wasn't what she wanted.
Congratulations to her. Will she now move on to doing a Charter (CIMA or ACCA)? AAT is really only the beginning of a career and a gateway qualification to start with CIMA or ACCA (or ACA if she went into practice, but that seems unlikely now). I would expect her career to advance further and faster with a charter behind her. Most reputable companies are more than happy to provide a study package including tuition and study leave in return for a commitment to staying for a few years.
eyebeebe said:
Congratulations to her. Will she now move on to doing a Charter (CIMA or ACCA)? AAT is really only the beginning of a career and a gateway qualification to start with CIMA or ACCA (or ACA if she went into practice, but that seems unlikely now). I would expect her career to advance further and faster with a charter behind her. Most reputable companies are more than happy to provide a study package including tuition and study leave in return for a commitment to staying for a few years.
McLaren are very keen for her to keep up her studies and will be supporting her once her probation period has finished. Looking at everything they have sent her, it looks like they like to look after their staff.Eric Mc said:
There are lots of ACCA members running practices too (like me). Practice is not exclusively allocated to ACA.
I think you misunderstood me Eric. I know there are plenty of ACCAs in practice and indeed running them. What I meant was that ACA can only be studied for while in practice. As the OP's daughter is working in industry, ACA is not a road she can travel down in her current company. Equally, I wouldn't recommend studying ACCA in industry with the intention to take it into practice, as the experience gained in industry would likely not be relevant to working in practice at a level comensurate with her chartered status. rasto said:
McLaren are very keen for her to keep up her studies and will be supporting her once her probation period has finished. Looking at everything they have sent her, it looks like they like to look after their staff.
That's great to see. I wish her good luck. The AAT will stand her in good stead and give her a head start on those that come into the charters with exemptions based on university modules. eyebeebe said:
CaptainSlow said:
Wrong.
Admittedly my knowledge is a little out of date. Is that a recent change? In my day (only 10 years ago) the only way to study ACA/ICAS/ICAI was to have a training contract with a practice. CaptainSlow said:
I don't know when it changed but you can study ACA whilst in industry now, admittedly I would imagine it would be larger employers due to training programme requirements. I guess there is large competition between the bodies for new members which drove the change.
Like the man in the orthopaedic shoe, I stand corrected.
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