Chartered accountant Bloomer Heaven has for the first time in decades opened its trainee schemes to take on a 16-year-old GCSE student.
The firm said its positive experience of taking on A Level students and the fact that many youngsters had become disillusioned with the debt involved in university study were reasons for the move.
Alex Kidson from Oldbury has joined the firm and will study for her Association of Accountancy Technician’s (AAT) qualification alongside professional study at the BPP Professional Education study centre in Colmore Circus.
She has 12 GCSEs and comes from St Michaels C of E High School, having beaten a large number of similarly qualified applicants for the apprenticeship due to an exceptional CV and an impressive willingness to work hard, the firm said.
Traditionally Bloomer Heaven has appointed mainly graduates to undertake the challenging training to become a qualified accountant.
But the appointment two years ago of Paul Lambeth, one of its small number of A Level students, has been so successful that it has encouraged the firm to consider taking on a larger percentage of younger and less academically qualified trainees.
Bloomer Heaven’s training manager Jackie Woolley said: “We have had some very good A Level students over the years but our focus has tended to be on graduate entry.
“Paul, who is also studying for the AAT as a stepping stone to studying for his chartered accountancy (ACA) exams, has proved to be an outstanding student which has made us rethink our approach to non-graduate recruitment.
“As an endorsement of his ability he has been put forward by the Association of Accountancy Technicians as a website case study of a successful student and was also recently interviewed by BBC television talking about the opportunities for non graduates wanting to get into accountancy.
“Paul’s performance made us realise that there is a large number of similar students at GCSE and A Level standard who have the ability and potential to be very good trainees and do as well as those entering the profession as graduates.
“We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of applicants who want to become accountants but have become disillusioned by the university route.
“Many are unhappy about the amount of debt they are likely to run up while studying combined with the reduction in job opportunities when they qualify.
“By going down the AAT route, students not only receive funding but also receive a salary which means financially they are much better off.”
