Trainee Accountant Review

The main part of my role is the preparation of year end accounts for; limited companies, sole traders, partnerships and charities. I also prepare tax returns for the companies and the individuals linked with them. This can take anywhere between a few hours and a couple of weeks to complete a job.

I have learnt lots of new skills that are specific to my role, however the apprenticeship (although a level 7) seems to focus on a fairly basic skill level and much of it is not overly applicable to my day to day role, although there are some areas that, although not in the current state taught, if developed further and built on, may be useful in a higher level position

I was not originally employed as an apprentice, but have been moved onto an apprenticeship since starting. I think the apprenticeship is largely a waste of my time, the actual certificate at the end is worth less than the qualification i am completing alongside. It seems the company are very keen on you taking part in the apprenticeship so that it will cover the cost of our training without having any improved benefits from the original trainee role i had agreed to. All extra work is to be completed in our own time, so the company have signed us up to all this extra work with no seeming benefit for ourselves, in order to recoup some of their costs.

The program seems to have a very general structure. we seem to have been given a list of fairly general development tasks, which are generally not very applicable to our individual roles, and told to complete them within a set time frame. There are also apprenticeship days organized, but seem to frequently be told about them at the last minute / they are organized whilst other courses are running.

The extent of the employers support is that of giving us the time off for the training that absolutely cannot happen in the office, however beyond what is absolutely necessary, the rest of the work is to be completed in your own time, at home. For many of the staff who have been made apprentices, this means additional work to be done at home with no other change to their contracts (or claw-back clauses should they choose to leave)

The accountancy qualification that i am working towards is brilliantly supported by the training provider (First intuition Bristol). They have many great teachers who constantly make themselves available if you have any questions/ issues. They are very good at teaching the content, but also how to pass the exams at the end.

The accounting qualification covers a wide area of accountancy, there are some topics that are less applicable to my current role, however overall the majority of the modules have had a large impact in my improvement at work and i have learnt a lot from them. The apprenticeship itself seems to be at a level below what would help me improve in any of the areas it covers

There are very few social activities / sports teams at work ( we used to have a Christmas meal and a company day out, which have now been combined to one event). There are lots of professional networking events which there has been "a push for younger staff to attend", however this is yet to go further than a mention in an email about networking events

No

Whilst they may once have been focused on their staff their current push for constant growth has left little time and expense to be looking after their staff. Although they have teamed up with a good accounting qualification provider in FI Bristol, the current core focus of the company seems to be on growth at all costs.

Consider all of your options & really look into the companies you apply for. Should you choose to apply to Albert Goodman, there will likely be some numeracy & language screening tests followed by two interviews after which you may be offered the job. Be confident, do a little research on the company and if you can on those interviewing you.