The AAT Level 2 Accounts/Finance Assistant apprenticeship standard development started in 2016. The development involved employers, SMEs, and educational experts and used research from the accountancy industry, including surveys, job vacancies, and job descriptions. The programme has been approved for delivery since July 2019.
There are many similarities between the Level 2 and the Level 3 and Level 4 apprenticeships, but a few key differences are:
- Unlike the Level 3 and 4 apprenticeships, the Level 2 apprenticeship includes a mandated qualification which means that student registration fees and exam fees can be covered by apprenticeship levy funding. The AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting is one of the qualifications that’s been approved to use as part of the apprenticeship
- The End Point Assessment (EPA) must be sat on top of the qualification unit and synoptic assessment (if using the AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting qualification as the mandated qualification). So, as the qualification is mandated, the full AAT qualification is completed on-programme. Then following gateway, the EPA (which is in addition to the qualification) will be taken. This consists of a structured interview and in-tray test
- Level 2 will take 13 months to complete, a little less than Levels 3 and 4
Knowledge
The new AAT Qualifications2022 retains the valuable focus on building strong foundations at Level 2 in core technical bookkeeping and accounting skills. These cover double-entry, suspense accounts, journals, trial balance, reconciliations and costing topics.
The Level 2 qualification also now sees an expansion of content across other areas highly relevant to the modern commercial environment. Including business awareness, communication, technology, sustainability and ethical principles.
Level 2 apprenticeship learners are trained, supported and developed in a wide range of important career skills and behaviours. Whilst also gaining the technical knowledge assessed in the AAT exams.
Skills and Behaviours
Our Impact Skills Programme (ISP) for the Level 2 apprenticeship standard helps learners build a number of crucial employability skills that lay a strong foundation for a successful start to a finance career:
- Personal effectiveness
- Working effectively in a team
- Producing and communicating quality information
- Attention to detail
- Working in the business environment
- Using systems and processes
- Customer focus
- Professionalism
Many employers now believe that these skills and behaviours are more important in their trainees than basic technical knowledge.
The Finance/Accounts Assistant apprenticeship covers:
Funding
The Level 2 Accounts/Finance Assistant apprenticeship standard sits within funding band 8, capping the amount of funding available at £6,000. This level of funding opens up a range of options to enable additional training, to augment the apprentice’s on-programme learning.
Find more information on apprenticeship funding here.
Recruitment
The Level 2 Finance/Accounts Assistant apprenticeship is applicable to a variety of business-related job roles, including administrators and data input clerks. The programme is being seen by many as a replacement for Level 2 business and admin qualifications. This opens up the opportunity for administrators to move smoothly into finance as time progresses. As well as another talent development approach to engage different types of people and attract talent at an earlier age.
Find out more about our Apprenticeship Recruitment Service here.
Get in touch
First Intuition can help advise the appropriate route and entry point for individuals. Get in touch if you would like some more information on Level 2 and apprentices.
Find more information here about the Level 2 apprenticeship standard, including a flowchart for fast tracks, here: Level 2 Apprenticeship.
Find more information about why employers may need to reconsider entry points for this year’s, and future, cohorts of school and college leavers here.
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