Partner Article

Financial sector apprenticeships open routes into professional services

The Financial Skills Partnership is promoting two apprenticeship schemes as part of National Apprenticeship Week,

The Professional Services Higher Apprenticeships Programme will offer 1,500 apprenticeships across tax, audit and consulting, and is led by Price Waterhouse Coopers.

A government-backed consortium of professional bodies representing chartered accountants, management consultants and taxation technicians with training providers BPP, devised the scheme.

The FSP has also been awarded funding to develop employer-led higher apprenticeship frameworks in banking and insurance, with an initial project creating 270 new vocational opportunities on par with the first year of a degree.

Liz Field, FSP’s CEO, acknowledged that apprentices were not simply restricted to a blue-collar setting, and that these new schemes would open exciting paths into the UK’s financial sector.

She said: “The current climate is far from rosy for young people today. Against a background of high youth unemployment, rising student fees and falling university applications, we are spreading the word that higher apprenticeships offer talented, ambitious and dedicated young people excellent alternative pathways into many of the professions involved.

“These allow them to obtain knowledge-based higher qualifications, while at the same time gaining invaluable on-the-job experience and earning a wage.

“Young people can find out about the opportunities available through FSP’s online careers portal ‘Directions’, which offers independent careers information on the financial sector including job profiles of most of the sector’s major roles, and links to employers currently offering work placements, internships and apprenticeships, as well as graduate traineeships.”

HSBC are already on board, and will offer apprenticeships across their branch network, call centres and operations areas.

Liz added: “FSP already works with major employers in the financial sector such as HSBC, Aviva, Barclays and Nationwide.

“We firmly believe more employers will see the benefits of having apprentices, including smaller employers who will be able to tap into the frameworks for higher apprenticeships currently being developed.

“These will help them attract the talent they need by offering valuable training to industry-recognized national standards.

Liz went on to add that she expected to see financial sector employers amongst the nominations for the NAS’ and City & Guilds’ Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers Awards.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .