Accountancy apprenticeship over University

[Hillbilly]

Looking for some advice. DS has offers from 2 good unis for Business Management/Environment and Business and has unexpectedly been offered an Accountancy apprenticeship locally. The plan would be that he would do all the AAT exams while working. He is very keen, partly to start working and earning, and also to avoid student debt, although he is sad that he would miss out on uni life.

My question is, once he has completed the apprenticeship and if he decides he wants to move to a bigger company, would he be able to without a degree? Or would he end up having to still do a degree later which of course would be a very different experience than if he went to uni this year.
Thanks!

No he won’t need a degree.

Usually they do AAT first then move on to chartered. When bigger firms recruit their chartered intake it’s usually open to grads or AAT qualifieds.

A lot of firms prefer AAT candidates over grads because they’ve already got 2 years real works client experience.

@Livelovelaughfuckoffhmmm yes these are my concerns too.

I know, my point was that they can't do L4 straight after A levels. They would have to go back to a L3 vocational. I would say from experience that going straight from school to the L3 would be difficult with no work experience. The only people I know who have been able to do it successfully have been older with some experience of, at least, bookkeeping.

As a school leaver apprentice, it is possible to be accepted straight onto a L7 qualification pathway from the outset eg ACA, AAT/ACA, AAT/ACCA or, for certain tax streams, ATT/CTA.

Most of the major accountancy firms recruit on that basis, though for some streams, your apprenticeship contract might initially be only for AAT L4 and you would have to make the case to roll onto ACA or ACCA L7 once the AAT is secured.

Obviously you gradually build up to taking more and more demanding exams and, ideally, this should parallel a gradual build up in the complexity of actual workload and responsibility.

The professional bodies' own websites (eg AAT, ACCA, ICAEW) and all the 'Big 4' and 'next four' accountancy firms provide good resources on recruitment streams and exam structures.

I'll mention that to the 20 odd teenagers my colleague has spent the day teaching MATS to then. L3 is the usual starting point for school leavers who are NOT going straight into L7. FAPS teaches double entry bookkeeping from scratch. They do L3 after A levels, then L4 12 months later, then complete their ACA, ACCA or CIMA qual over the next 2 years.

Ok I'll stand corrected then. I also have colleagues who teach L3 and I recruit for the Afa apprenticeships. They almost always refuse school leavers for the L3 and get them to do bookkeeping first, but that may just be the policy where I am. FAPS has something like a 50% pass rate nationally, whereas he has an 80% pass rate so that may be why.

If he is very academically able, personally I’d skip AAT (if that’s possible) and go straight into ACA, ACCA or CIMA. Otherwise he’ll spend 2 years doing AAT and then at least another 3 on the next step.

id also recommend a firm that has several students studying at the same time - indicates the firm is committed to study leave, and camaraderie in exams is important.

I did a degree then ACA, but 30 years ago, things have changed. I have encouraged both my children to go to Uni for the life skills - yes expensive, but personally I felt an important part to life. And if he’s academically very able, being able to study for longer at a high level is a real joy.