Accounting staff who enter the profession through an apprenticeship rather than going to university will be almost £60,000 better off than their student counterparts after three years, figures show.
As A-level students discover their exam results this morning, research from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) claims that vocationally trained accountancy students who began their course at the age of 18 will be £59,631 ahead of university students by the time they have completed their degrees.
The figure comes from an analysis of data from the Hays Salary Survey, Department for Education and Skills reports and AAT’s own data.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Jane Scott Paul, chief executive of the AAT, said what a student earns is largely down to the individual, and rising stars will be rising stars, whether they go to college or university.
“What we hope to show through this research is the benefits of a college education that are sometimes overlooked,” she said. “£60,000 is a significant sum, and with the vast majority of our students progressing on to become chartered at the same pace or even quicker than graduates.”
