National Apprenticeship Week 2022 – the Langham Hall experience Q&A

As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2022, we spoke to Samuel Highmoor, a trainee accountant undertaking an apprenticeship with our Internal Accounts team, whilst completing his AAT – Assistant Account Apprenticeship Level 3. We asked Sam to shares his experience and recommendations to anyone considering taking this route into employment.

Q: Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
After being at university for two years, I wasn’t enjoying my course and didn’t see myself finishing it. I started an apprenticeship as this allowed me to carry on learning while entering the job market. This was good for me as I feel I am quite a practical person, all the things that I learn on my course apply back to something I am working on.

Q: What kind of tasks have you completed / do you complete on a daily basis?
I run timesheet and debtors reports to help senior management see how the business is running. On a weekly basis, I process the payment run for suppliers and deal with administrative task on our Practice Management Software. I also do the bank reconciliations and have started taking on parts of management accounts preparations.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge during your apprenticeship so far?
My biggest challenge has been managing my time and organisation of my workload. This includes learning how to create effective plans so that deadlines are met, whilst communication with my team on my current capacity to take on new work. This is an important skill I’m learning early on in my career as I continue to take on more responsibility. Being able to share my experience with my co-workers has meant that I’ve gained an insight into their work styles to help me develop my on working and organisation method. These are valuable skills that you learn outside of a traditional study environment.

Q: What do you hope to be doing in five years’ time?
In 5 years, I hope that I am fully qualified as an accountant.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you could give to someone who’s looking for an apprenticeship?
I would highly recommend an apprenticeship, as you get both an education and work experience all in one. Apply to as many places as possible and don’t be afraid of being rejected. The right company and opportunity for you is out there. Find a team where you can learn and grow.

Langham Hall offers a diverse range of apprenticeships spanning from our operations and compliance team to internal accounts and Technical/Systems. We are keen to widen the range of departments that support apprenticeships as the development of young talent ensures we are training staff from the bottom up. Team growth and succession planning are key to our talent strategy and apprentices are become increasingly important in supporting this aspect of our growth plans.

At Langham Hall apprentice’s sign-up to an 18 month or 3-year apprenticeship depending on the level of qualification they are completing. They are assigned to a specific department or business area where their job role directly relates to their qualification. Each apprentice has a mentor to support them through their qualification and study leave to allow time to complete their training programme.

If you are interested in our apprenticeship opportunities, get touch with our HR team.