What to expect as a Consilium Graduate trainee

As our Graduate recruitment drive continues, Senior Manager Andrew McKay gives us a flavour of what it is like to join Consilium as a Graduate trainee. In the article, Andrew provides an overview of our Graduate programme, the types of work you will do and the advantages of choosing Consilium for your Chartered Accountancy training.  

Quick links:

• Week one as a Graduate trainee at Consilium
• Advice and support from current and previous Graduate trainees
• Exposure to every aspect of Accountancy
• Helping Graduate trainees achieve their goals
• Building a rewarding career at Consilium
• Committed to your continuing personal and professional development.

Week one as a Consilium Graduate trainee

So, you’ve got the job and it’s time to join your fellow Graduate trainees at Consilium. The big question is: what’s it going to be like?

The opening week of your traineeship with Consilium starts with meeting your fellow trainees and getting up to speed on how we work. Our onboarding process covers all the fundamentals of working life at Consilium and how our values underpin everything we do. We’ll also talk you through the principles of compliance that are essential to our business and fun things like your birthday day off and our busy calendar of social events!

Every graduate trainee is paired with an Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) “buddy” from the firm. They will be your sounding board, point of contact and cheerleader for the duration of your training (and most likely well beyond!).

In addition to your buddy, we pride ourselves on being an approachable and friendly company. Everyone is here to help you get to grips with working life, studying for professional accountancy exams and charting your chosen career path.

Advice and support from current and previous Graduate trainees

After training on our systems and software, you will be straight on to client projects as part of our Audit department. Being a smaller firm means our Graduate trainees do real work from day one.

Consilium typically operates teams of three to five people per Audit. Within each team there will be at least one teammate who has recently performed your role, ensuring you have access to additional advice and experience from second or third-year trainees and our qualified Chartered Accountants.

Similarly, ACCA trainees in Accounting and Business services operate within small teams. Again, you will work closely with qualified Accountants and other Graduate trainees.

Exposure to every aspect of Accountancy

We specialise in owner-managed businesses in Scotland and work for a diverse range of clients. In practice, our trainees often work with senior figures, directors and CEOs. You won’t be hidden away crunching numbers all day.

As we provide a full range of accountancy services to our clients, Graduate trainees gain experience in different areas of the profession throughout your training contract. That is a big advantage for exam preparation and keeps things interesting. Plus, you’ll learn what makes business owners and entrepreneurs successful.

Our portfolio includes everything from precision engineering firms and tech start-ups to some of the most well-known restaurants and bars. One thing is for sure; you will never be working on the same thing!

Helping Graduate trainees achieve their goals

What about studying for your professional exams?

Our mission is to help people achieve their goals and for our Graduate trainees, that means completing their ICAS or ACCA qualification. As our teams are structured to include first, second and third-year trainees you will have direct access to colleagues who have been through the same exams you will sit. We find this is particularly helpful for advice on how best to study, tricky topics and perfecting that all-important exam technique.

All our trainees receive paid study leave in line with the levels recommended by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Team members are also encouraged to use annual leave to ensure they have sufficient time to prepare for each round of exams across the three-year ICAS or ACCA traineeships. 

During study and exam leave trainees are allowed to focus completely on studying. This means you can ignore work emails and won’t get any “could you just…” requests. We want you to do well and giving you the time to focus is key. 

Building a rewarding career at Consilium

Once you reach your second year of training with Consilium we’ll begin discussions about your career plans. Our vision is to be a great place to work, learn and study for your whole career. We’re proud that every Graduate trainee who has completed their professional exams has been offered a permanent contract with Consilium.

Some trainees remain within the Audit department and others choose to move and specialise in different areas of our business like Accounting and Business Services, Tax or Corporate Finance. You will find our former trainees at every level within our business, all the way to Partner.

Committed to your personal and professional development

Consilium’s commitment to your personal and professional development doesn’t stop after you achieve your CA or ACCA accreditation. We’ve developed our own bespoke, in-house training programme – The Consilium Edge – which focuses on preparing team members for management and leadership roles.

This is quite unusual for a firm of our size, but it reinforces our commitment to creating a great place to build a rewarding career in Accountancy.

Applications are open for our 2025 Graduate training programme where trainees will work towards professional accountancy qualifications in our ICAS pathway or ACCA pathway.

You can also learn more about what it is like to be a Graduate trainee with Consilium. Read what current trainees think about working towards CA or ACCA qualification.

Alternatively, learn how Graduate training with Consilium is a great launchpad for careers in Accountancy or read about Linzi Wilson’s path from CA trainee to Partner.

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