BDO is one of the UK’s largest accountancy and business advisory firms providing services to ambitious businesses within the UK and worldwide. They offer a School Leaver Programme.

This combines work experience with study towards your professional qualifications. You can gain highly-regarded professional qualifications alongside a permanent salaried career, all without the expense of funding higher education. At the same time, you’ll be gaining invaluable experience in a commercial environment, working on real business projects alongside leading industry professionals. BDO pay for all your training and they also pay you for your work.

For the first two years you will study towards the Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB) qualification and the Higher National Apprenticeship in Accountancy (HNA). If successful in these, you will continue on to study towards an appropriate professional qualification for your chosen specialism. This will usually be the ACA, but may be the CA (in Scotland) or the ATT or CTA if you intend to specialise in tax.

If you pass all your exams, then within 5 years you will be a qualified accountant.

There are a number of areas within BDO that you can choose to specilaise ina nd pursue. these are:

• Audit
• Tax
• Advisory
• Financial Services

They have 21 regional offices across the UK.

In order to apply, you need to have at least the following:

grade B in Maths and English at GCSE/Scottish Standards or equivalent
280 UCAS points or equivalent (excluding General Studies) (obtained or predicted)
The application process is an online application, followed by online tests, an interview and then an assessment day.

If you are undecided maybe first attend their Summer School Programme, which runs for 2 weeks over the summer.