CRAVEN College and Tax Assist Accountants recently celebrated a long-standing relationship.

A group of Craven College accounting apprentices past and present joined with staff at the Skipton Tax Assist office to celebrate their rebranding and to share their experiences of working in accountancy.

Vicky Berry, Branch Manager at Tax Assist Skipton, herself a former apprentice at Craven College, said: “Our apprentices learn both and college and, on the job, and this really complements each other.

"While students learn the theory at college, they also learn how we work, and this ensures we have staff who understand and fit into our business perfectly.”

Craven College has a proud heritage of excellent apprenticeship provision and high success rates.

Following the publication of the 2022/2023 National Apprenticeship Data, Craven College’s overall achievement of 67 per cent ranked the college in the top 10 per cent in the country when comparing against General Further Education Colleges and it placed the college as the highest ranked provider in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Nicole Milner, who completed her apprenticeship in 2022 and recently won Future Star of the Year at the 2024 Keighley Business Awards, said: “It can be really scary taking the plunge to a career change and apprenticeship to train in something new, but the support received from both Craven College and TaxAssist made me settle into both really easily.”

Beth Fannon, Level 4 accounting apprentice, said: “Doing an apprenticeship with Tax Assist has really built my confidence, especially when communicating with the public.

"We have a good support system at Tax Assist, because we know there’s always someone to help us who has been an apprentice themselves.”

The course has been so successful that the college currently has 16 students awaiting placement.

Judith Lancaster, Lecturer in AAT, added: “Our apprentices are really committed, and they learn in great detail both in the classroom environment and in the workplace.

"Ongoing relationships with companies like TaxAssist are vital for the continued provision of our strong apprenticeship offering.”

David Forrester, Managing Director of TaxAssist, added “Apprenticeships in the accountancy industry offer small firms a fantastic way to develop talent.

"TaxAssist is a growing local employer with sixteen employees. It is amazing to think that 11 of our team have completed or are progressing through the apprenticeship scheme to gain their professional qualifications,

“Having a strong partnership with Craven College has been central to our success here. It’s a genuine win-win for employee and employer that about brings long term success for both.”