Major accountancy firms such as EY, Grant Thornton and BDO are offering young school leavers and mature students the opportunity to come on board as an Accounting Technician Apprenticeship, where they will ‘earn as they learn’ on a progressive path that could lead all the way to becoming a fully qualified accountant.

Many smaller accountancy practices and other businesses are also taking on Accounting Technician Apprentices, in several locations around the country, including Cork, Dublin, Monaghan and Wicklow.

Apprentices will spend four days working with the employer and one day in college, on a two-year contract for the duration of the course. After that, successful students will have the chance to go on to Chartered Accountancy, and gain full qualification.

Register Now!

Accounting Technicians Ireland is now taking applications from interested apprentices.We are holding an Open Day in Dublin at 3pm on Wednesday, June 29, where interested applicants can find out more about the jobs on offer, the companies and colleges taking part, and the qualification itself. Click here to register your place.

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Accounting Technicians Ireland is hosting an Open Day for any students and parents who may be interested in the new Accounting Technician Apprenticeship programme, which launches this September.

There are almost 100 placements with small, medium and large accounting practices and consultancy firms. Apprentices will earn while they learn on this funded study programme, working four days a week with the company and studying at college one day a week.

The Accounting Technician Apprenticeship is one of a range of new apprenticeships being launched in September 2016, as part of the National Skills Strategy 2020. Tuition fees will be paid by the State, and apprentices will earn the minimum wage as they work through the two-year programme.

The programme is modelled on Accounting Technicians Ireland’s hugely successful Higher Level Apprenticeship in Accounting & Finance in the North, which has now been running for two years and where the first intake is about to graduate.

Participants get the opportunity to progress to Chartered Accountancy after just two years, meaning they could emerge with a Level 9 qualification after just five years.

The Open Day takes place at 3pm on Thursday, July 28, at Accounting Technicians Ireland’s Dublin office on Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

Attendees will have the chance to ask questions on the programme, the participating colleges, and the companies who are hiring apprentices. They will also have the chance to apply for the programme on the spot.

Register today to learn more about this funded, ‘earn-as-you-learn’ study programme.

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Accounting Technicians Ireland responded to calls for new, professional apprenticeships last year, and “the ETB will be working together with a number of other ETBs around the country and Accounting Technicians Ireland” on rolling out this new and innovative accountancy apprenticeship this September, Mr Kearney told listeners to the show.

These submission calls were in response to “a gap in the market in terms of the National Skills Strategy and in line with economic developments on a national and European level”, Mr Kearney said, adding that “the apprenticeship model is well-respected internationally”.

Viable alternative

Interested Students alongside Career Guidance Counsellors and CMETB Training Services Staff and ATI Representatives.

The Accounting Technician Apprenticeship is a new and viable alternative to the full-time college route for those interested in pursuing a career in professional accountancy. The course offers students a way to “earn while they learn”, as they will be working in an accounting role while studying in college one day a week.

The events took place at the Monaghan Institute on Tuesday last, with a lunchtime session for local employers and an evening talk for students and parents. The Accounting Technician Apprenticeship is the first of its kind in the Republic of Ireland, and is modelled on Accounting Technicians Ireland’s hugely successful Higher-Level Apprenticeship in Accountancy and Finance in the North.

Left to right: Gillian Doherty – ATI Rynagh Mc Nally – Monaghan Institute Michelle Meehan – Jim Mc Quaid & Associates John Kearney – Education officer CMETB Dr Cecilia Hegarty – Local Employment office Dermot Kyle – JP Bond & Company LTD Carole Mc Caughey – ATI Briege Quinn – LEO Monaghan Tom Ryan – Ryan & Company Suzanne Wright – Wright Quarry Products Rose Tierney – Tierney Tax Consultancy LTD

Constructive Contribution

“There are many people out there who will benefit from practical learning. This gives the opportunity to employers working with new apprentices to make a very constructive contribution,” Mr Kearney told listeners on ‘The Wider View’.

The programme is fast-paced and designed to give participants an instant feel for the work place. Qualified Accounting Technicians can work in numerous sectors ranging from construction, IT, financial services and NGOs. Due to the continued growth in the economy, accounting technicians are in high demand.

Interested applicants for the Apprenticeship Programme should have a minimum of 300 points in the Leaving Certificate, including a pass grade in English and Maths at Ordinary level. Leaving Certificate accountancy is not a mandatory requirement.

Both employers and applicants can contact Accounting Technicians Ireland directly for more information or to get involved. Employers should contact Robert Cogill at rcogill@accountingtechniciansireland.ie or by phoning (01) 649 8127. Prospective students should contact Aoife Kennedy on akennedy@accountingtechniciansireland.ie or phone (01) 649 8126.

You can also download our information pack here.

– David Murphy

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The Accounting Technician Apprenticeship will meet a skills shortage in finance and accounting by providing employers with high-calibre and ambitious young trainees.

The Apprenticeship is modelled on the Higher-Level Apprenticeship in Accounting & Finance, which ATI launched in the North in 2014 and has seen significant growth since then.

This success is driven by the skills shortage in the field, the high quality of talented apprentices that the programme has attracted, and the benefits that the programme brings to employers of all sizes.

Meet our representatives at Monaghan Institute

It has also helped to drive the apprenticeship model forward as a viable alternative to the traditional full-time college route into a career in accounting.

The Monaghan programme commences in September 2016, and Accounting Technicians Ireland are organising a special Employers Briefing, which takes place from 12.30pm to 2pm on Tuesday, May 17 in Monaghan Institute.

This gives local employers the chance to meet with ATI representatives and discuss the benefits of the programme.

We will also be holding a special Information Session for local Students and Parents on the same date in Monaghan Institute, starting at 6pm.

Contact Karen McQuillan on (01) 649 8100 or kmcquillan@accountingtechniciansireland.ie to book your place.

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Are you sitting the Leaving Cert this year? Do you have a child or a friend who is considering a career in accountancy after school? Then you should learn more about our new Accounting Technician Apprenticeship.

This innovative programme gives budding accountants a viable alternative to the full-time college route. Apprentices get on the fast track to a professional career, where they work with a local business or practice four days a week, and study at a local college one day a week.

Apprentices emerge from the programme in two years’ time, with a nationally and internationally recognised qualification, solid work experience, and the opportunity to become a fully qualified Chartered Accountant in just five years.

We’re going to be answering your questions on the programme at a special Open Day for students and parents on May 18.

‘Earn as you learn’

Where it’s on

The event takes place on Wednesday May 18 at 6pm at our Dublin office at Chartered Accountants House on Pearse Street.

You can meet representatives of Accounting Technicians Ireland to learn about the Apprenticeship, what it entails, which colleges are participating and much more.

To book your place, contact Karen McQuillan on (01) 649 8100 or email kmcquillan@accountingtechniciansireland.ie.

We hope to see you there!

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Cara was nominated for the award by her employer, Belfast-based professional services firm Goldblatt McGuigan, and Belfast Metropolitan College, which runs Accounting Technicians Ireland’s training course. Cara is one of four apprentices that Goldblatt McGuigan took on in August 2014 as part of the initial pilot scheme of the Higher-Level Apprenticeship in Accountancy. The apprenticeship is a fully funded full-time work-based programme which enables school-leavers to earn while they learn and gain an internationally recognised professional qualification.

‘Real Contribution’

“My experience of the apprenticeship has been fantastic.  Not only have I received excellent training throughout but the work I do has real value. Having the opportunity to make a real contribution to a firm while I earned my qualification was one of the things that attracted me to the Higher Apprenticeship in Accountancy, and having this contribution recognised really means a lot to me,” says Cara.

‘Fresh Ideas’

Cara’s nomination caps off a tremendous year for the programme. Goldblatt McGuigan felt that Cara deserved to be put forward for this award owing to the significant contribution she made to two major forensic investigations.

“We are delighted that Cara has been nominated for this award, which is thoroughly deserved.  Since joining us, she has been involved in a great range of work, including forensic, tax, audit, litigation support services, and account engagements for a variety of sectors including the legal, retail, and agriculture industries.  Our apprentices are getting excellent experience, but I must also stress that, as Cara’s example clearly demonstrates, we have benefited greatly from the fresh ideas and energy that she has brought to the company.”

‘Great Expectations’

Gillian Doherty, Chief Operating Officer at ATI, also congratulated Cara on her nomination: “This is a tremendous achievement for Cara and her success demonstrates the calibre of young people who are being attracted to the Higher Apprenticeship in Accountancy.

“We are absolutely delighted with the success we have seen with the rollout of the Higher Apprentice in Accountancy in Northern Ireland and I am incredibly excited to see the programme being made available across the entire island of Ireland when our first groups of students in the south begin their apprenticeship in September. Cara and the rest of this initial group have set the bar very high, so we have great expectations for the next groups to follow in their footsteps.”

‘Barometer of Success’

Commenting on the success of the ATI programme, Christine Brown, Head of School, Belfast Metropolitan College said: “Our relationship with ATI has lasted over 20 years.  The main reason we have found the collaboration to be successful is ATI’s ability to understand simultaneously what students want and employers need.

“One of the great barometers of success that we look for is a course’s retention rate.  We currently have 26 apprentices working across 11 employers of varying size in Belfast.  Of those who enrolled for the Higher Apprenticeship in Accountancy, all of them are on target to complete the course and qualify.”

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“Years ago, young people would have done their articles in accountancy firms and they would have studied in the evening, to become accountants,” Gillian Doherty, COO of Accounting Technicians Ireland, told Donal O’Donovan on Newstalk Breakfast this morning.

“The modern apprenticeship is much more than that. You’ve time off work to go to class, you have college and workplace mentors, and you earn while you learn.”

Accounting Technicians Ireland launched a similar programme in Northern Ireland in 2014, and it proved so successful among employers, colleges and students that the programme was expanded to six colleges in the North last year. Now, students on the initial intake are preparing to sit their final exams, and they will graduate as Accounting Technicians in the Autumn. “They may then progress on to another three years’ study in order to graduate as Chartered Accountants,” Ms Doherty said.

Glowing evaluation

Today, employers such as Deloitte, BDO, Grant Thornton and many others in the North have taken on apprentices through Accounting Technicians Ireland. “We’ve 58 employers already across not-for-profits, large firms, and small and medium practice and all have given us glowing evaluation in the first round of quality assurance in January,” Ms Doherty said. Employers in the Republic seem just as eager to sign up.

“We certainly have found a very strong endorsement from employers around the country already, we have found that in terms of benefits, employers are very keen to have employee retention, and one of the things an apprenticeship brings is an increase in employee retention, which really results in a more productive and positive workplace, also creates diversification in the workplace, an apprentice can also be trained up in specific job requirements, so employers can effectively grow their own, mould apprentices to the business,” Ms Doherty told Newstalk listeners.

Earn as you learn

Training fees are fully funded by the State. While it’s not costing the employer to have the apprentice on the job for their training, they “still need to pay a minimum wage”, Ms Doherty said. This is good news for students, who can embark on a professional qualification straight from school where training is fully funded, and they also earn as they learn.

“They will go to college one day a week, and then, the remaining four days they’ll be in the workplace. They will have three weeks of study leave, and they will have study supports like textbooks and revision built into the programme. They have a workplace mentor and a college mentor so the link between the employer and the college is key to making sure the programme works.”

Moreover, robust safeguards are in place to ensure the student’s wellbeing in both the workplace and the classroom. As a national statutory programme, all the rules and regulations surrounding protection of the learner, protection of the employee, all are state-regulated.

While eligibility requirements are currently being finalised, applicants should have a good Leaving Cert to qualify. The programme is primarily aimed at providing school-leavers with an alternative route to a professional career in accounting, but “existing employees may also apply in the case of a transfer into a new role”, Ms Doherty said.

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