Trainee Accountant roles and Age discrimination

Nowadays, age is almost irrelevant. Most industries expect older applicants. There's merit in recruiting mature students and accountancy is a popular choice for career moves and personal development.

If you read the AAT magazine, you'll see many mature students profiled - there is life in your forties - and after too!

I dont think that there is an "age limit" on trainee accountant roles. It is often regarding life experience and work experience. Some youths have more experience than those older and vice versa. It should be on a case by case basis and nothing else.

I know that this does not happen and it is a very rose tinted view, but i think many would agree that age doesn't mean everything. There are thos with youth on there side that are darn site better workers than those twice there age. It depends on the person and as soon as companies stop putting age limits on jobs the better.

Age does not mean experience. And i fully agree that there are more mature workers being penalised as well. If people are willing to take a pay cut to get into a job they want whose business is it to stop them?

I was a 'junior assistant' in practice, which was two levels up from the entry level, and I was 27 when I did that job. I don't recommend it though as you find that people who went in to AAT straight from college have progressed further, and I was taking orders off 20 year olds which was hard to stomach having been a manager in my previous roles!

welshwizard wrote: »

41 yrs of age, degree and AAT NVQ 2,3 & 4 and all the 'reputable' agencies say experience on the job is what counts not your qualifications - needless to say for me this means I can't get a job since I retrained on the NVQ route specifically to get practical experience through my studies - i.e. how it is done not how the theory of it all works. Age discrimination? Probably - somewhere in there, but a short sightedness of so many employers and agencies seems to be far more prevalent than anything else. Surely newly qualified staff - regardless of their 'experience' - should be attractive?

I have applied for trainee accountants, accounts clerks, finance assistants, finance officers - the list goes on - in all more than 70 jobs now and not one interview, most I don't even get an acknowledgement.

I can't afford to go on to ACCA, CIMA etc, so what do I do? I am so cheesed off and disillusioned - especially when I read in every issue of the Accounting Technician that the AAT qualification is valuable and recognised by employers throughout the country - in my experience the whole country does not include my part of South Wales.

Younger candidates are taken on because they are cheaper (and often free to train through government grants etc) and easy to mould into what the employers require, experienced staff are taken on to limit the training costs incurred by companies so where do we, who opt for a career change, stand? We stand alone - unrecognised by employers, agencies and even the AAT! There are no jobs out there for qualified, inexperienced staff.

Stop keeping count of how many jobs you've applied for, it'll depress you more! *HUGS*

I totally agree with everything you've said though.

I've just applied for another 2 jobs online. Not keeping anything crossed. I've got in the habit of applying for them and not thinking about them again, that way I'm neither surprised or disappointed when I don't hear back!

I decided that i needed a change of direction and moved into accountancy with 14 years of experience in managing, sales and administrative work as a trainee in practice. I took a major pay cut in order to progress for the long term. I knew all the competition were young and cheap to employ. I decided that I had to make myself attractive to the firm. To get my foot in the door I really went to town on my application form. I put in very plain terms that I really wanted/needed the job as this was possibly my last chance to cut out a career for myself and that I wanted it so much that they couldn't ask for any more than I would give if they gave me a chance.

To get a reply you need to make the interviewer interested in seeing you. You have to remember that they are probably our age! They probably don't relish spending days interviewing teenagers with whom they have little in common.

I belive that if I can do it anyone can. When i went for the job I had no official qualifications. I have now passed my final AAT exam and have been given a considerable payrise for doing so (together with all the hard work I put in!) If you already have the ATT qualification then use this as a selling point - just remember to stress that you can be finely tuned to their specifications, nobody wants to employ someone who is too long in the tooth.

If you are not getting responses or being turned down after interviews I would suggest that you improve your applications or interview techniques.
Dont give up, eventually you wwill find an organisation that you can fit into and a negative attitude is all apparent to potential employers so beware!

lessci wrote: »

I beleive the reason many employer take on younger trainee accountants is because they can employ them on a Modern Apprenticeship and claim for their training through the government scheme, making them less expensive to employ. Or am I just an older Cynic?

I think this is part of the reason, along with generally low wages that you associate with young trainees.

If you are older than say mid 20's you prbably have other skills/experience to offer anyway. So you may be better suited to a business that will use those skills!

Accountancy does seem to have a very stereotypical plan for accountants at different ages?

I suppose the consolation is the really high earners tend to be at the later stages of their career, so worth staying in there :001_smile:

I went for an interview at an accountancy firm where I live, after a tip-off from someone in my IAB payroll class. I was told by the partner that interviewed me that (how can I put this?) I was outside their usual intake pattern, and he did wonder how I could live on the salary on on offer. Read of that what you will...

Gem7321 wrote: »

Where I work over 25's are funded by LSC for AAT, so I'm not sure funding is the issue

I think that only applies in London though.
The apprenticeships, with funding, are usually only available to 25 & under.


The other issue, experience, is the really stupid one. Why do so many employers 'insist' that candidates have experience of exactly what they do? The only people that do are already employed by them!
Birmingham City Council are probably the worst for this, they want people to have experience of an IT system in their education department, there about the only people in the UK that use it, as it was partly written for them.