Our team of Accounting Apprentices from Armstrong Watson took part in the Worldskills UK Accounting Technicians competition held at the AAT headquarters in London on 28th June and received the gold award as overall winners of the competition. 

Along with Knowsley College from the northern heat, our students also competed against Chesterfield College and Halesowen College from the Midlands heat and Stevenson College and BPP London from the southern heat.  Whereas the heats were testing the groups’ technical accounting skills, the final was more of a test of their ability to work as a team and to plan and organize their work to meet strict deadlines.  Also, with the air conditioning being out of action on the morning of the final (I’m convinced the AAT planned this intentionally!), it also tested the endurance of the students as the heat in that office was oppressive to say the least.

Anyway, our young ladies kept their cool and pulled off a tremendous victory to be crowned accounting skills champions in the UK and along with their employers Armstrong Watson, we are all extremely proud of what they have achieved and it proves that the Accounting Apprenticeship programme can produce some highly talented individuals. 

Our quest for world domination will have to be put on hold for the time being however as the AAT have decided not to take part in the European or World stages of the Worldskills competition, maybe just as well as we have to retrain them to do accounts in Euro’s!  Nevertheless, the adventure has not entirely finished as we have been invited to the Worldskills UK presentation and awards ceremony in London in November where the team will be presented with a trophy and their individual gold medals.

It really has been an amazing achievement for these three students to get the gold award and we are delighted with the recognition they are getting as they are three fantastic young people who fully deserve their success. The pressure is now on for 2009 and we are already looking ahead to repeating our success next summer and finding a group of students who can bring the trophy back to System Group