AAT welcomes 25 apprentices to ‘speed-interview’ event
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has welcomed approximately 25 young people and 15 accountancy employers to its Barbican office for a ‘speed-interview’ event, designed to facilitate potential placements.
The event, hosted at the association’s Barbican offices on Tuesday 19 February, gave the young people the chance to spend eight minutes each meeting with recruitment professionals from leading accounting firms including Grant Thornton, BDO, Haines Watts and BKL. It is expected many will now progress to gaining work experience and full employment with the companies who attended.
The young people are all taking part in the Leadership Through Sport and Business (LTSB) apprenticeship scheme, a social mobility programme designed to help 16 to 21 year olds from underprivileged backgrounds access careers in high level business and finance, whilst developing transferable skills with leading football club foundation partners.
Oyin Ojediran, 21, from Lambeth, said: This is my second speed interview event and the practice has really helped me improve my approach towards new people. It was crucial learning to take a breath and think about what I really wanted to say.”
Meta Versluys, assistant HR manager at BKL, added: “We recently had three people from LTSB join us along with three graduates. It’s important to us that we get a mixture of vocational and academically qualified employees in our firm.
“One of the many benefits of hiring school leavers on apprenticeship schemes is that they start on a lower salary level than graduates, although on a minimum of the London living wage, and take longer to reach the Chartered Accountant qualification as they continue their studies. As a result, they can deliver different client work compared to our graduates, which is commercially useful for us as a business.
Martin Hanratty, head of UK account management at AAT, said: “AAT has worked closely with LTSB for the past six years now, supporting them across their work with football clubs in various local communities.
“The work of LTSB plays to the AAT values of giving everyone an opportunity to better themselves and get a career, and so many success stories have resulted. The partnership has been fantastic.”
