By Christian Koch Apprenticeships“We’re creating our own CFOs and leaders of the future”18 Oct 2024 One of the biggest challenges businesses currently face is finding the right people to help them grow. Here’s how Worcestershire County Council is bucking that trend with its pioneering accountancy apprenticeship scheme.Worcestershire County Council is currently plugging the accounting skills gap by building its own pipeline of AAT-educated apprentices. Here’s how they do it right.Sharpen your tax skillsCovering crucial tax changes, sharpen your tax skills masterclass is more relevant than ever. Gain expert insights to guide your clients through the latest rules and regulations.Book nowWork closely with colleges and training providers when recruitingWorcestershire County Council has strong links with Heart of Worcestershire College (HOW College), the training provider for WCC’s apprentices. WCC advertises on HOW College’s website and social media, and also attends open days to find new talent. Because training providers can handle the job interview process and handle apprenticeship admin, it helps ‘ease the load’ for finance teams.Place existing employees onto apprenticeshipsA unique aspect of WCC’s apprenticeship scheme is roughly half of its apprentices were existing employees. It’s a strategy which benefits the local authority in many ways; not least being that it’s more cost-effective. It makes much more financial sense to promote from within the workplace, rather than recruiting similarly-skilled staff on higher salaries. Plus, the employee is already familiar with the organisation’s culture.The apprentices include Senior Finance Officer Sian Killoran. The 50-year-old had been working in WCC’s finance department for 22 years (mainly in assistant roles) when she applied for a promotion in 2023. Yet, the job required AAT qualifications – something she didn’t have. It inspired Killoran to start an AAT Level 2 apprenticeship and she’s since noticed the improvements at work. “There’s always a feeling of ‘am I doing things right?’ in accounting,” she says. “But since studying AAT I’ve become much more assured and understand more about balance sheets and holding accounts.”Rotate apprentices around departmentsWCC has a rotational system for its apprentices, who spend six months working within different departments such as service accounting, internal audit and central finance.“Our rotation system gives people an opportunity to see what accountancy is like, plus the range of careers available,” says Sarah McDonald, Senior Finance Business Partner. “Everybody’s got an area of accounting they prefer – for example, I’m a management accountant who prefers working with budget-holders and couldn’t do the techy stuff, or chew over legislation.”WCC’s rotation system is also proving to be a much quicker way for apprentices to embed the knowledge they’ve learned during their studies. “If apprentices spent their entire time in the same placement, they might not get to apply what they’re learning until three years later,” says Chief Accountant Christopher Bird. “However, with multiple placements, there’ll always be an opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice.”Give apprentices meaningful tasks from the outsetAt some organisations, rookie apprentices spend their first few months doing dogsbody jobs, such as making tea or answering phones. Not at WCC.“You want to give apprentices something that gives them confidence to grow,” says McDonald. “From their first week, we give them tasks, such as dealing with queries from external audit or chasing things up. If you don’t make them feel valued and experience the role, how can be certain they want a career in accountancy?”Access government fundingUnder the government’s levy system, large organisations set aside 0.5% of their payroll for apprenticeships.“As we all know, the accountancy market is short for certain skill levels,” says McDonald. “So why wouldn’t you use the apprenticeship levy to grow your own team for the future?” Have a diverse approach when recruitingThe eight apprentices currently working in WCC’s finance team come from a wide range of backgrounds: alongside straight-from-sixth-formers, there’s trainees with degrees in psychology and history, as well as learners from Taiwan and Spain.Claire Prescott, Senior Finance Officer, previously worked as a journalist before studying AAT. She explains how this diversity can benefit public sector organisations.“You can’t have five 20-year-olds sitting around a table discussing how a project should work, because you’ll be getting the same opinion and perspective. When boardrooms have a diverse mix of nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, ages and genders, they work better. It’s the same with trainees too. Plus, it’s important for local authorities to be representative of the communities they work for.”Have a sense of purposeMany people choose to work for councils because it means they can play a part in helping others less fortunate than themselves.As Richard Stocks, Senior Finance Business Partner, says, “Part of my role involves working in social care, supporting the elderly and vulnerable in Worcestershire. Knowing you can make a difference definitely gives you a good feeling.”Focus on nurturing future leadersRoxanne Small started at WCC as an 18-year-old apprentice 10 years ago and has since worked her way up to becoming a finance business partner. “What I really like about WCC is that they’re always looking forward,” she says. “They’re looking at apprentices thinking, ‘Are you going to be the next CFO?’ and about the kind of jobs you could do next.”Read more aboutA case study in running a successful AAT apprenticeshipWhy AAT is the perfect fit for our traineesThe magic of mentoring traineesSharpen your tax skillsCovering crucial tax changes, sharpen your tax skills masterclass is more relevant than ever. Gain expert insights to guide your clients through the latest rules and regulations.Book now Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist/editor who has written for the Evening Standard, Sunday Times, Guardian, Telegraph, The Independent, Q, The Face and Metro. He's also written about business for Accounting Technician, 20 and Director, where he is contributing editor.