• Finance Apprenticeship Programme

Finance Apprenticeship Programme

  • Are you interested in earning while learning? Then kick start your career with an alternative to university by joining our Finance Apprenticeship Programme. 

    The Finance Apprenticeship Programme is aimed at those without degrees, and has been designed to develop the next generation of finance leaders.

    It is expected that future leaders will face a very different set of challenges and we are offering a foundation level programme that will support you in developing the skills you will need.

    The programme will help you to achieve a renowned Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) finance qualification while working for the public sector watchdog for Wales. You will follow a three-year fixed-term apprenticeship programme, working with our teams across Wales to deliver a variety of audit services and help scrutinise and improve public services.

During your three-year fixed term employment contract, you will develop personal, professional, financial and auditing skills to help you in future roles. You will develop on the job skills, working within different teams and supporting the external audit of a number of different public sector bodies, such as councils, NHS bodies, Police and Fire services and more.

You will also learn how to establish and maintain good working relationships both internally and externally. It is expected that the level of responsibility and the complexity of the work required from you will increase over the duration of the scheme.

We encourage our apprentices to take responsibility for their own development and strive to improve their skills and knowledge, treating new assignments as an opportunity to apply what they have learned in a new environment or to gain new knowledge.

Public bodies are spread far and wide across Wales, so you will need to be flexible about working in a mobile, hybrid setting, working from home some days, and travelling to the office or to client sites normally at least two days per week. While we try and ensure that you work close to where you live, we can’t guarantee this. However, we can guarantee that no two days will be the same and you will join an organisation committed to supporting the development of finance leaders of the future. 

You will be given paid day release to study for the highly recognisable Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) financial qualification. You will be encouraged and supported throughout your apprenticeship to manage your own personal development through learning logs and progress reviews and your professional training programme will be supplemented with skills development workshops.

In addition to the support of your peers, you will be allocated a line manager who will have a critical role to play in developing and supporting you throughout your studies, and a buddy to help ease you into your new role and provide on-going informal support.

At the end of the apprenticeship programme, subject to the successful completion of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification and good performance, apprentices may be offered the opportunity to join the Audit Wales graduate training programme, further to a final assessment process. If successful, you’ll train to become a qualified accountancy professional with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

This Apprenticeship Programme has been developed as an alternative option for those without a degree who are interested in a career in finance to train through the Association of Accounting Technicians to become a qualified finance professional.

You will need a minimum of 3 C grade A levels in any subjects and at least 5 GCSEs A*-C, including a B grade at Maths.

Candidates can apply on the strength of their predicted A Level grades. Any offers made will remain conditional upon gaining the necessary academic qualifications.

For further details on eligibility, see our General Eligibility section.

  • General Information 

    Applicable to all Apprentices

Eligibility for the Apprenticeship

To be eligible for an apprenticeship, you must:

  • Have a right to live and work in the UK
  • Be resident in Wales or your employer is based permanently in Wales (you must spend at least 51% of your time based in Wales)
  • Have legally left school
  • Intend to stay in employment for the next 12 months
  • Not already be funded for other training courses by Welsh Government
  • Be paid the relevant National Minimum Wage
  • Work more than 16 hours per week.

Apprenticeship Programmes will receive funding support through the Welsh Government Apprenticeship Framework. The Welsh Government does not support apprenticeship qualifications where an individual already holds a qualification of the same type, content and level (or of a higher level). You should not enter for a qualification of the same type, content and level as that of a qualification you already hold.

However, if the apprenticeship would allow the individual to acquire substantive new skills, and it was evident that the content of the qualification was materially different from any prior qualification, then such an apprenticeship may be eligible for funding.

As part of the recruitment process your details will be shared with the training provider for the apprenticeship. The training providers are an integral part of the recruitment process as they are responsible for confirming candidate’s eligibility to undertake the apprenticeship in line with the Welsh Government Apprenticeship Framework. In agreeing to proceed with the application process you are agreeing to the sharing of your details with the training provider.

If you are uncertain as to whether you are eligible for a programme, please contact trainee.recruitment@audit.wales  setting out clearly the qualifications you already hold.

Please note that the guidance given above does not consider every circumstance and Audit Wales reserves the right to reject an application where it considers that any eligibility criteria have not been met.

An individual already holding a level 4 (or above) finance or accounting qualification is not eligible to apply for the Finance Apprenticeship Programme. Examples of such qualifications include level 4 AAT; an accountancy degree, HNC or HND; or a higher-level accounting qualification awarded by one of the accounting institutes. This apprenticeship is aimed at those without any previous finance qualifications, however where an applicant has a level 2 AAT qualification, we will consider those applicants. Where individuals are successful that already hold a level 2 AAT qualification, they will be offered a two year apprenticeship programme. Level 3 AAT applicants are not eligible to apply.

Where a prior qualification contained some finance or accountancy elements at level 2 or above, but was not exclusively a finance or accounting qualification, such qualifications would need to be considered for eligibility on a case-by-case basis.

Qualifications in broad numerical subjects like mathematics and statistics would be expected to meet the eligibility requirements.

How to apply

We only accept applications through our online portal, but if you need us to consider a reasonable adjustment, do please let us know in good time.

When completing your application

Familiarise yourself with the Job Description and the Person Specification, so you understand the role and what the essential qualifications, skills and attributes for the apprentice role are.

We are looking for how your studies and/or previous experience in work or outside interests makes you suitable to start a career as an apprentice.

Please ensure you include evidence of:

  • Your current qualifications meeting the minimum educational standard
  •  In your covering letter we want to find out about you, why are you interested in pursuing an apprenticeship and what are you interested in and what have you done so far, be it through work, school, college, sporting activities or volunteering, experiences or behaviours you have that you think would make you suitable for the role.

Please note – the application form will be used to assess all applicants.  Failure to complete the application in detail may result in your application not progressing to the assessment stage. It is therefore particularly important to include all academic qualifications, including grades achieved. We suggest that you familiarise yourself with the Job Description and the Person Specification, so you understand the role and what essential qualifications, skills and attributes we are looking for.

Assessment Centre

All apprentice assessment processes will be completed by an assessment centre. An assessment centre will normally include an interview and the completion of some test, often written or through a role play. Further information about this stage will be provided nearer at the time.

Feedback is provided to all candidates that attend an assessment centre.

Contact information

If you have any questions regarding, our Apprenticeship Programmes, or if anything is unclear, please email trainee.recruitment@audit.wales

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