What is a Finance Apprenticeship?

If you’ve got a head for numbers and want hands-on experience in a top organisation, you could consider a finance apprenticeship.

The lowdown…

A finance apprenticeship is a professional head start in an organisation offering real industry experience with real responsibilities.

With more and more paid positions available each year in a range of sectors, apprenticeships in finance provide work and training for school and college leavers in a wide variety of roles.

Whether it’s investments and market analysis that really float your boat, or you see your true calling in insurance, business planning or auditing, there’s a finance apprenticeship out there for a variety of areas within the finance industry that can give you a head start, with qualifications to boot..

And it’s not just positions with financial firms and banks on offer either. Organisations of all shapes (but usually larger sizes), from retail and leisure to telecoms and engineering, employ apprentices in full-time jobs and help them on the way in moulding their own career paths.

What qualifications will I gain?

As well as the foot in the door that comes with corporate experience, nearly all finance apprenticeships are organised alongside specialist work-based training.

It’s this practical groundwork leading up to recognised professional qualifications and vocational certificates which can be essential if you want advance to fully qualified status in certain financial jobs.

For a career in accountancy for example, completing a Higher Apprenticeship as an accounting technician or accounts manager is a professional head start that will enable you to skip certain elements of the syllabus when it comes to getting chartered status.

Employers expect apprentices to have a commitment to a future career in a specific area of finance, or at least some idea, and will give you an accelerated path to achieving your chosen profession.

In many cases, embarking on your finance career as an apprentice will mean you’ll have to skills and training to potentially advance quicker up the ladder than a graduate – all the while gaining practical understanding of your chosen field. It’s a unique and fast-tracked way to work in global organisations doing the job you want to do – and all without a three-year degree.

For more information on the different types of apprenticeships, head over to AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk