How accounting apprenticeships work in Scotland

If you’re an employer considering hiring apprentices in Scotland, here’s everything you need to know about the kinds of apprenticeship available, and how to get funding.

Skills Scotland is ramping up its efforts to clarify the pathways available to those who want to pursue an apprenticeship, whether that’s as an employer or an apprentice.

Laura Wilson is Sector Manager for Financial Services & Fintech at Skills Development Scotland. She’s behind a new group designed to bring together government agencies, employers, educators and others to understand what is really required to spread and strengthen the uptake of apprenticeships.

Wilson says, “If we can do that, then we can address the issues collectively and that’ll have more impact than if we just try and do our own thing in different places across Scotland.”

Career pathways

In simple terms, the accounting sector in Scotland is supported at all three levels:

• Foundation
•  Modern
• Graduate Apprenticeships

This helps employers create a pipeline of talent, and encourages school-age individuals to consider a career in the industry.

“Many employers will be aware of certain pathways, but perhaps not of others. It’s true that there are quite a few employers who got the five A’s in their Highers, and then went to an established university and got their accountancy degree and then just worked in the same firm their whole career, so that’s their knowledge of the skills system.

“But there’s been so many innovative pathways developed that unless you’re engaging in different bits of the skills system you might not know about them,” explains Wilson. However, she is also keen to point out that many employers are aware, and fully on board with, apprenticeship pathways.

The three kinds of apprenticeship available in Scotland

Foundation Apprenticeships: a subject choice in the senior phase of school, providing pupils with industry experience. These count towards a qualification at SCQF Level 6 – the same as a Scottish Higher.

The Accountancy framework is taken over one or two years and recognised as an entry qualification into courses by all of Scotland’s universities.

Modern Apprenticeships: the design and development of Accounting Modern Apprenticeships have recently been reviewed and refreshed through a new industry-led approach. This is to ensure skills and qualifications are not only fit for purpose, but fit for the future.

As a result, a new pathway in Modern Apprenticeship for Accountancy at SCQF Levels 6 and 8, developed with employers to reflect their needs, will be launched soon. 

Graduate Apprenticeships: enable an individual to earn while they learn up to Master’s degree level. Developed for sectors where there is a need for highly skilled employees, apprentices spend 80% of their time working with their employer and the rest studying with a university.

How employers can get funding

Different types of apprenticeships have different funding structures. The Scottish Funding Council receives funding to deliver Foundation Apprenticeships that are managed by colleges, and all of the Graduate Apprenticeship contracts with universities.

Meanwhile, the funding delivery system for Modern Apprenticeships involves Skills Development Scotland (SDS) receiving funding from the Scottish Government to administer them, in partnership with a range of private and public training providers contracted to deliver them. This year, the Scottish Government hopes to provide up to 25,500 Modern Apprenticeships.

For many employers, these Modern Apprenticeships will represent the best way to bring in apprentices. The key point that employers need to know is that Skills Development Scotland contributes to the cost of the apprenticeship training and assessment, with the level of support dependent on a few factors, including age of the apprentice, the qualification level and the apprenticeship sector. That contribution is designed as an incentive to get employers investing in training both new incoming staff and existing workers.

Employers have a choice of either contracting directly with SDS and training their own apprentices, or going through a training provider to run that for them.

How training providers support employers

That investment will often involve employers engaging with training providers (TPs) to find the right people to start on the apprenticeship pathway. Derek Farrell, Head of Delivery for Devolved Nations at training provider Babington, says TPs like his are fundamental to the skills landscape. “If you look at the 25,000 apprenticeship spaces across Scotland, just over 70% of those apprenticeship spaces are filled by training providers.

“So we are two-thirds of the landscape, and we also provide industry expertise. We bring people qualified financial experts, including financial directors, in from industry to teach the next generation of apprentices,” he says, pointing out that training providers’ achievement rates are higher than colleges and universities.

“That tells us that people want to work and learn at the same time. So, particularly for accountancy firms you can see the value. Given that, it’s key that we have strong partnerships, whether it’s Skills Development Scotland or the Scottish Funding Council, to continue to deliver those sorts of numbers.”

Accountancy apprenticeships are in demand

Farrell says accountancy employers are embracing apprenticeships. He works with employers to source the best accounting talent and recruit them onto apprenticeship. Farrell reports that, although apprenticeship uptake has been generally lower than the government target, accountancy bucks that trend.

“We’ve seen small growth every year in terms of apprentices coming on board and transitioning from the three levels; however, we’re having those difficult conversations with employers about them having to help with the costs of the apprenticeship.”

“The reason that it works well and employers from the accountancy side are willing to do that is because they are looking for that AAT professional qualification.” In short, developing AAT-qualified staff represents an immediate – and enduring – return on investment.

Positive landscape for accountancy

Wilson agrees on the importance of creating a joined-up system, and says her message is simple: “I want employers to take away the idea that we are working collaboratively to widen the pipeline into accountancy in Scotland.”

“The landscape is positive, with a lot of work happening across the industry to help people understand what a career in Accountancy can look like and the opportunities within it.

“There’s proactive and collaborative work across professional bodies and employers to look at how we can broaden the talent pipeline and show that the sector is a stimulating environment to work in.”

Christian Doherty is a business journalist and freelance writer for AAT.