Accountancy apprenticeships
An apprenticeship lets you work and train at the same time, with an employer. For each standard, the national maximum funding band is the most that can be put towards training and assessment costs. The table shows the main accounting standards from the Find apprenticeship training service.
| Standard | Level | Typical duration | Maximum funding band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts or finance assistant | 2 | 12 months | £7,000 |
| Assistant accountant | 3 | 15 months | £12,000 |
| Professional accounting technician | 4 | 18 months | £12,000 |
| Accountancy or taxation professional | 7 | 36 months | £21,000 for starts up to 17 December 2026 |
Versions 2.0 of the Level 3 and Level 4 standards have recent start dates (Skills England lists 12 August 2026 and 27 July 2026), with the funding unchanged for Level 4. Check the standard's page for the version your employer uses.
Level 7 changes to know about
- Skills England says that from 1 January 2026, Level 7 apprenticeships are funded only for apprentices who, at the start of training, are aged 16–21, or aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care plan and/or care experience. Anyone who started a Level 7 apprenticeship before 1 January 2026 continues to be funded to completion.
- A revised Level 7 standard (Accountancy professional) replaces the current version for new starts on 18 December 2026, with a funding band of £26,000.
- If you are outside those groups, ask whether an employer will fund your study another way.
What you will be paid
Your employer sets your pay, and it must be at least the legal minimum. From April 2026 the minimum hourly rate for an apprentice is £8.00 (£8.31 from April 2027). It applies to apprentices under 19, and to those aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that first year, if you are 19 or over, you are entitled to the minimum wage for your age: £12.71 an hour if you are 21 or over, and £10.85 if you are 18 to 20, from April 2026.
Illustration only: at £8.00 an hour for 35 hours a week over 52 weeks, the arithmetic comes to £14,560 a year. This is our own calculation to show what the legal minimum means. It is not a typical salary or a pay offer.
How to find one
Employers advertise apprenticeships directly and on the national service, Find an apprenticeship (GOV.UK). You apply to the employer. The employer chooses the training provider. AAT, ACCA, ICAEW and CIMA each publish pages for apprentices and employers; see their own sites for how their qualifications fit with each standard.
Is an apprenticeship right for you?
- It suits you if you want to earn while you train and the training cost is covered within the funding band.
- Some qualification fees are not covered. ACCA, for example, says registration and exam fees are not covered by funding, so ask the employer who pays what.
- Compare it with the other routes and with training contracts.
General information only, not professional or financial advice. This guide does not recommend any course, employer or product, and does not give tax, accounting or financial advice.
Sources
Every fee, pay or exam figure on this page comes from the pages below. We read each one on 13 November 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the body's own page before you pay or decide.
- Find apprenticeship training (GOV.UK service): accounting courses, checked 13 November 2026.
- Skills England: Assistant accountant (ST0002, version 2.0), checked 13 November 2026.
- Skills England: Professional accounting technician (ST0003, version 2.0), checked 13 November 2026.
- Skills England: Accountancy or taxation professional (ST0001), checked 13 November 2026.
- Skills England: Accountancy professional (ST0001, revised version), checked 13 November 2026.
- ACCA: apprenticeship costs and funding, checked 13 November 2026.
- AAT: Level 3 Assistant Accountant apprenticeship standard v2.0, checked 13 November 2026.
- GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, checked 13 November 2026.