With the new AAT Qualifications 2022 coming into effect in September 2022 after a one-year delay, we have seen a huge growth in employers considering taking on Level 2 apprentices.
Why is Level 2 becoming increasingly relevant?
Since the pandemic, our view is that AAT Level 2 apprenticeships are becoming increasingly relevant to employers. The pandemic greatly affected students’ studies. Both their inter-personal and academic skills development have been compromised, some students have not even sat a formal exam. Furthermore, many have not had the opportunity to have part-time work and gained the associated skills with first jobs such as communication and timekeeping. This effect on young adults means that a lot of new trainees are finding it much harder to adjust to the workplace and the demands of studying for a professional accountancy qualification. As a result of this, employers are having to focus a lot more on building soft skills, behaviours as well as knowledge for new trainees.
The Level 2 apprenticeship offers a great entry-point and lends itself to these students who the pandemic has impacted. The programme has been tailored to suit those with no previous experience in the workplace. It also has skills development built into the programme, including communication skills, effectiveness, teamwork, and double-entry bookkeeping knowledge to understand initial accounting tasks. Level 2 is therefore a great way to ease young adults back into learning, taking exams, and gaining valuable workplace skills.
Moreover, the new AAT syllabus Qualifications 2022 which is being launched in September 2022 is much more robust and challenging compared to AAT AQ2016. The new syllabus contains less duplication. It is, therefore, more important that trainees have the baseline knowledge to build upon as some topics will no longer be addressed at levels 3 or 4. Level 2 will set trainees up with a good basic understanding to effectively progress through the rest of their qualifications that fast-tracking to Level 3 will not.
The Impact Skills Programme:
At First Intuition, we run an Impact Skills Programme as part of our apprenticeship programmes. The Impact Skills Programme (ISP) is designed to build confidence and develop crucial workplace skills that lay a strong foundation for a successful start to a finance career. The Level 2 apprenticeships also come with a Xero Certification to help apprentices increase their skills in modern technology.
The ISP modules include:
- Personal Effectiveness
- Producing and Communicating Quality Information
- Working Effectively in a Team
- Working in the Business Environment
The Level 2 modules include:
- Introduction to Bookkeeping
- Principles of Bookkeeping Controls
- The Business Environment
- Principles of Costing
What job roles are suitable for a Level 2 Apprentice?
There is a range of job roles suitable for someone on a Level 2 apprenticeship, including:
- Accounts Payable Clerk
- Finance Administrator
- Accounts Assistant
- Business Accounts Administrator
- Finance Assistant Junior
- Accounts Administrator
- Assistant Bookkeeper
Key dates:
With the new syllabus coming into effect in September 2022, there are some key dates to look out for:
- 31st August 2022 – last registration for AAT AQ2016
- 1st September 2022 – all registrations will be AAT AQ2022 after this date
- 30th September 2023 – last assessment for AAT AQ2016
More details on the Level 2 apprenticeship:
The Level 2 development started in 2016 and involved employers, SMEs, and educational experts. The programme has been curated from research into industry, job vacancies, job descriptions and surveys and was approved for delivery in July 2019.
The funding band for Level 2 apprenticeships is currently £6,000. The Level 2 apprenticeship is also mandated, meaning the apprenticeship needs to be completed before Gateway. The duration of a Level 2 apprenticeship is around 13 months, spending 12 months of this on programme.
Students will test their knowledge, skills, and behaviours before moving on to their End Point Assessment after 12 months of study. This consists of an in-tray assessment and structured interview based on portfolio evidence. Technology, communication, ethics, and sustainability are themes that are embedded at level 2 and run throughout the qualification.
The Finance/Accounts Assistant apprenticeship covers:
You can watch the full Q2022 Level 2 Forum recording below:
Find out more about Q2022 here.
Find more information about Level 2 Accounts/ Finance Assistant Apprenticeship Standard here.
The details of our AAT programmes can be found here
For help or advice on your AAT study, please get in touch with us today.
Find more information and resources on apprenticeships here.
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