Getting an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce is as competitive as trying to get into Oxbridge. At the start of National Apprenticeship Week 2012, AAT Chief Executive Jane Scott Paul asks: isn’t it time snobbery over apprenticeships was put to bed?

The vast changes in the education landscape are making the headlines and naturally causing a lot of passionate debate. Couple the latest depressing unemployment figures with youth unemployment at its highest since records began, and it is not surprising that education and skills are top of the political agenda.

Vocational qualifications have under come under scrutiny, with Professor Alison Wolf’s review of vocational qualifications last year and the recent news from Michael Gove that thousands of vocational qualifications will be cut from school league tables.

Apprenticeships, too, are in the spotlight in this debate. Are apprenticeships worthwhile? Are they adding value? Have apprenticeship numbers fallen or risen since 2011? Are short training courses being packaged cynically as apprenticeships to attract funding and to meet targets?  We need to spare a thought for school-leavers and their parents, trying to make decisions in the face of confusing and contradictory messages.

It is right to scrutinise apprenticeships rigorously to ensure that they offer a high quality alternative to university. But some of the commentary demonstrates a snobbery about apprenticeships which is out of date and needs to be challenged. Changing these long-held perceptions will take time.

The reality is that the laudable drive to increase participation in higher education has led to young people embarking on a university experience without taking a long hard look at whether it is the right choice for them. Young people need to consider the risk that university may be a costly mistake. Employment and earning prospects vary greatly by university and by course.

The rise in tuition fees appears to have led to a fall in applications for university. While many worry that the drop in university application numbers this year will lead to a less skilled workforce, I don’t think this will be the case. The best apprenticeships offer a viable alternative to bridge any skills gap in careers such as engineering, technology, manufacturing, IT, finance and accountancy. Getting an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce is as competitive as trying to get into Oxbridge.

The apprenticeship route is well worth exploring, and provides the chance to earn while you learn, to learn by doing and to gain hands-on practical work experience along the way.

We have seen first-hand how well apprenticeships work in the finance sector with all sizes and types of business, and so this year we decided to practice what we preach and introduced our own apprenticeship programme.

We invested time at the beginning to recruit the right school-leavers with the right characteristics and attitudes. We have been impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of our apprentices who are adding real value at AAT. We are also pleased to be creating employment, choices and opportunities for young people at a time when they face unprecedented levels of unemployment and uncertainty.

So while many are still sceptical about apprenticeships and who they benefit, all I can say is that now, we urgently need to offer more choice to young people as well as better careers guidance. I hope with time we can raise the status of apprenticeships and demonstrate that they offer a good stepping stone into worthwhile careers.

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AAT apprentice Sophie Dobbins for The Huffington Post: “My Apprenticeship”

If you’ve ever wondered ‘what is an apprenticeship?’ then there’s no better time to ask than right now. Here we highlight an impressive accountancy apprenticeship in Milton Keynes that’s setting youngsters on their way to the top

With National Apprenticeship Week barely a week away, there could not be a better time to talk apprenticeships.

Jane Scott-Paul, AAT’s Chief Executive, visited Bedford College’s Apprenticeship Academy last week to mark its partnership with Aspire Achieve Advance Ltd (3AAA) in bringing employers and apprentices together.

The result of the partnership has seen more than 40 new jobs created for aspiring accountancy professionals. The programme boasts a 100% pass rate for those who are on the 14-month accounting apprenticeship, which is endorsed by AAT.

Since opening in September last year, 3AAA has been working to engage with employers on the value of this new approach to apprenticeships. Impressively, the new jobs which have been created as a result of that groundwork are not vacancies that were being advertised. In fact, they were new posts where the recruitment team showed employers how their business could benefit from engaging a bright apprentice.

More information on 3AAA can be found on its website. More general information on Apprenticeships – and National Apprenticeship Week (which runs from 6-10 February) –  is available on the National Apprenticeship Service website.

Register for the free ‘Train as an AAT apprentice’ webinar on 10 February to learn more about AAT apprenticeships.

As the global downturn continues, the subject of salaries has never been more pertinent. It’s a good time then to ask AAT members about what they earn and how satisfied they are with working in accountancy right now. Here’s what we found.

During last year few people will have avoided the effects of the global downturn – whether as an individual keeping a closer eye on their personal expenditure, or as an organisation wishing to maintain its position in a contracting economy.

With that in mind, AAT wanted to examine if its members had been affected by the recession and to what extent – asking about their salaries, job satisfaction, working hours and job security.

Members were surveyed across all levels – from students at the beginning of the qualification to fellow members with many years’ experience in the accountancy profession. Some of the results were as expected but others provided greater food for thought.

There are many reasons why people choose to study for a professional qualification – and increased earning potential would be high on the list. Three-quarters of students and 78% of full and fellow members feel obtaining the AAT Accounting Qualification has increased their potential earnings. This is reflected in the findings as the survey shows the average salary for level 2 students is £17,673 and almost doubles (£35,997) for fellow members.

Perhaps to be expected, there were real variations in salary depending on where you live in the country. The average starter salary (Level 2) is £13,030 in the North East and £23,440 for London. This rises to a 15k difference for fellow members living in the same regions.

More than half of respondents (53%) said they had benefitted from a salary increase during last year. The average increase was 8%, which was very favourable considering many organisations have implemented salary freezes. Unsurprisingly, salary increases varied in each sector with those in the private sector more likely to receive a pay rise than those working in public service.

The survey also covered AAT Members in Practice (MIPs) who are either self-employed (34%) or employed and running their own business alongside (40%). MIPs who are also employed on average spend less than 40% on their self-employed work. The majority of MIPs feel that the license has had a positive effect on their overall earning potential. However, just under a third felt their practice income had been affected adversely as a result of difficult economic conditions. Promisingly though, almost half feel that this year will bring about an increase in their practice fee income.

Members were asked if their working hours had increased during the recession. Almost a third of members said they now worked longer than their contracted hours. Those in larger companies had been hardest hit – 33% in companies with 250+ employees compared with 22% of those with 1-10 employees. A third of MIPs also said they had to increase their working hours as a result of the recession.

An uncertain employment market generally means less job security – but AAT members are bucking this trend. 74% said they felt very or quite secure in their current position. This reinforces the idea that accountancy is a recession-proof career, and actually well-trained finance staff are needed more than ever at a time where companies need to keep a greater eye on their budgets.

MIPs who are fully self-employed had the most job security at 90%. Interestingly, those MIPs who were employed and also undertake practice work said they felt their self-employment was more secure.

Despite difficult economic conditions, AAT members are very upbeat about their roles, with 70% saying they were very or quite satisfied in their current job. But levels for members undertaking practice work were even higher – 93% of fully self-employed MIPs and 90% of MIPs expressed satisfaction in their roles. Human resources expertise tells us that job satisfaction is more important to employees than a higher salary and so this is very encouraging to hear.

With unemployment at its highest since 1994, it would have been little surprise to have heard AAT members were struggling. But, the fact that our membership is feeling motivated and rewarded is a real testament to the value a professional body can bring.

You can download a free copy of the full salary survey on the AAT website now.