Accountancy Apprenticeships – Q&A
Written on 1st, October 2022
The what, who, why and how – your guide to accountancy apprenticeships
What is an apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships have undergone some major changes in the past few years, leaving some people unclear on how they work, who they’ve for and how they can help you build your career. Basically an apprenticeship combines on-the-job, practical work experience with study.
Who can apply?
You must meet the following criteria to qualify for an apprenticeship:
- be aged 16+ at the time of enrolment, there is no upper age limit!
- not already be in full-time education at the point of enrolment
- live in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) or have lived in the UK or EEA for the past three consecutive years.
Apprentices develop high levels of practical skills and behaviours and make valuable contributions to their employers – Ofsted
What will I earn while I learn?
If you’re aged 16 to 18 or in the first year of your apprenticeship, you’re entitled to the National Minimum Wage for an apprentice. If you’re aged 19 or over and have completed the first year of your apprenticeship, you’re entitled to the National Minimum Wage. In England you’ll work a minimum of 30 hours per week.
Will i have to pay?
No, you aren’t responsible for paying for an apprenticeship regardless of what your age is. All costs are covered by your employer and the government.
What salary can I achieve?
Apprenticeships can be an excellent door opener to virtually any career, so its guaranteed to give you a great start or boost to your career.
60% of apprenticeship completers had seen a positive impact on either their pay or progression – gov.uk report
As a school leaver how do I get started?
If you have big career aspirations but don’t want to go to University, an apprenticeship is a great choice. Its a win-win for you as you” be earning, learning and avoiding uni debt! Here is a great infographic on Apprenticeships v’s Uni.
If you decide finance is for you the next step is find an apprenticeship vacancy, depending on your skills and experience will determine what level you start on. We offer Level 2, 3 and 4 accounting apprenticeships.
How to find an apprenticeship
AAT advertise vacancies from employers across the UK – visit aat.org.uk/apprenticeships
Training Providers – we advertise our vacancies here
Look for employer vacancies – many will advertise their apprenticeship vacancies on job sites – Indeed, Reed, Total jobs. Also you can search on the government website – www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprenticeships.
Other sites include – Not Going to Uni, Get my First JOb, UCAS apprenticeship finder.
I’m already working, how do I i get started?
If you’ve decided you’d like to do an apprenticeship at your current place of work the first thing to do is to gather all the information you need so you can discuss it with your employer. You need to be able to show the benefit they will get from you doing the apprenticeship – we can help with that. We have all the details about the course, the funding and what each of you need to do to make sure it is a successful apprenticeship, we can even have one of our experts discuss it with your employer to help give them peace of mind.
How does an accounting apprenticeship work
As an apprentice you will work for an employer in a finance related role, some of your time, known as off the job training, will be spent studying your qualification online. As a training provider we have a blended approach to the learning and ensure our tutors are available to help you in the best way for you.
Visit our accounting apprenticeships page and get in touch with us to discuss more.
