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Key means of sourcing talent

NATIONAL Apprenticeship Week is an ideal time to celebrate the concept of bringing young people into the world of work to develop both their professional and personal skills. Gary Woodhall, Head of Audit at Haines Watts, said about the apprenticeship academy they launched in their Northampton office last year: "Here at Haines Watts we see our apprenticeship scheme as one of the key means of sourcing exceptional talent with which to grow our business.

"National Apprenticeship Week also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the progress our latest apprentices have made over the past year and to get their feedback on the scheme and how it has rated against their career objectives. Our latest recruits, Matt and Euan, had the following to say."

Matthew Pickard: "From my experience of working for Haines Watts I know I have made the right decision in becoming a trainee and not going down the university route. It was a route I knew would suit me both for the personal and professional opportunities I could gain."

Euan Davies: "For me, the main highlight has been the trust and opportunities I have been given so far. From the start I’ve had the opportunity to deal with clients both in the office and out on site. In fact, the best experience so far has been working away at the client giving me the opportunity to properly integrate with the audit team and really immerse myself into the client’s business.

"There are challenges though. Getting up to speed and working at the standard that is required for a company like Haines Watts has been a steep learning curve, especially given how fast the company develops and grows."

Gary Woodhall continued: "The success of the Audit Academy in 2016 was clear to us both commercially and in developing new talent so within a few months of bringing the first crop of apprentices on board, we were keen to secure the next generation of talent for 2017.

"The process has been an important step both for the audit service line itself and across the wider business. Our experience in 2016 proved that the model works and with significant growth forecasted across the board for 2017, it is apparent there is a need to increase our intake for the coming year.

"To do this it’s been important that we not only involve students but also parents and schools. As a company we’re working hard to develop relationships within the local community to ensure that we provide a real alternative for students to the traditional university route. With two school leavers already set to join us when school finishes in July, it’s proving to be a remarkable success. Students clearly want an alternative, especially in professional services where the benefits in terms of finances and the opportunity to qualify in a particular profession are obvious.

People have always been the core of Haines Watts so it makes sense to bring in the right people, with the right drive and attitude, to continue to push the company forward and provide our clients with the highest level of service. I would also urge any other professional services company to think about doing the same."

If you’re interested in finding out about careers at Haines Watts, contact Gary Woodhall on 01604 746760 or via email at

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