School leavers programmes increasingly popular route into accountancy

AS 850,000 pupils across the country receive their A level results today, many will be starting to think about future careers.

While it was the norm to follow a graduate route into professions like accountancy 20 years ago – and the only way in – it is now becoming increasingly common for students to join firms a lot sooner.

Company schemes are emerging to provide more opportunities at an earlier stage. Deloitte’s Brightways and KPMG’s Discovery Programme are just two examples.

Accounting firm Mazars has even gone so far to create a school leavers website offering 30 ‘start smart’ opportunities a year.

Ryan Imison took a non-graduate route into Mazars and has not looked back.

He said: “I started thinking seriously about careers when I was finishing my A-levels at college and had to start my applications for university.

“I was looking for courses that would allow me to understand more about the business world and prepare me for a career in the business and finance industry.

“I was advised by lots of people that after university, joining an accountancy firm and obtaining my qualifications would be a good move for me, but when I looked into it more I found that lots of leading firms, such as Mazars, give you the same opportunity if you join straight after A-levels.”

Imison  joined the firm’s Manchester office in 2012 and began an AAT qualification, which would then allow him to work towards the ACA qualification from the ICAEW.

Four years on he has completed nine out of 15 exams which make up the ACA qualification and made progress at the firm.

He said: “I have seen my role at Mazars grow and I am now responsible for managing junior members of staff while out visiting clients and had the chance to work with a wide range of companies, from multi-nationals to owner managed businesses and charities.

“I have had chance to work with all sorts of different people, internally and externally and be involved in real mix of work on a day to day basis.”

Neil Barton, who is Imison’s authorised training partner at Mazars, said the firm directly benefits from offering a non-graduate option.

Barton said: “For us the main benefit is that the pool of talent is not artificially reduced for reasons such as affordability of attending university.

“The school leaver route in to the profession is always something that we will consider. If there are good people out there we would like them to have a successful career with Mazars.”

Alan Clarke, ICAEW Manchester president, said: “The ACA qualification from the ICAEW is opening up access routes and inspiring a new generation of students who might at one stage have felt a career as a Chartered Accountant was out of reach. The ACA is used by multi-national firms across every sector and is recognised globally so once under your belt offers fantastic opportunities for progression.”

Students looking to enter the profession straight after school or college can find out more information about the routes available, including school leaver programmes, Higher Apprenticeships and the AAT-ACA Fast Track route, on the ICAEW Careers website .

School leavers looking for ACA opportunities starting in September 2016 can also apply via the ICAEW Training Vacancies website .