Apprentice Finance and Accounting Technician Review

I primarily manage a university-wide survey that collects information on how many hours have been utilised towards teaching, research and other activities which helps calculate the University’s FEC research rates. I also report on FTE data across the university and assist with maintenance of budgeting tools.

Since starting I have developed my excel skills including learning to use PowerBI and PowerQuery. I have also gained experience using the Sage accounting software as well as the University's Oracle system.

I've enjoyed it a lot, I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of people across different roles and would definitely like to stay within the same office upon completion of the programme, although a position elsewhere in the university would be welcome too.

As an apprentice at the University of Oxford I have been given the opportunity to work in 4 teams throughout my 3 year programme, as well as having regular catchups to oversee my progress.

As well as receiving plenty of support learning each new role, I meet regularly with a member of the admin team to discuss any issues or highlights of the week. The university has also provided specialist equipment to accommodate personal needs that would otherwise make work challenging.

In the three years I've studied at Abingdon & Witney College both my tutors have been extremely supportive and put in a lot of effort to ensuring I have a plentiful supply or resources to assist my learning.

Due to the nature of the University finance function being that it uses a unique accounting system there is not always much of an overlap between what I learn at college through AAT and what I apply at work.

I have attended meetings with different managers across the university to gain an insight into how the wider university functions. Going into summer there are a few social events planned that I hope to get involved in that were not possible until now due to Covid.

Yes

As well as gaining an array of experience in a wide range of roles, the people I have worked with have been very accommodating and spared no expense in making my time at the university as comfortable as possible. This would apply to both apprentice and non-apprentice roles.

The University is a great place to do an apprenticeship because there is a huge range of departments and teams that you will have the opportunity to work alongside, and upon completion of the programme you will be part of the professional network making it a lot easier to stay with the university if you would like to.