Delivered in partnership with the award-winning RGU, the flexible, government-funded scheme enables apprentices to earn a BA (Hons) Accounting degree while simultaneously working towards the globally recognised ICAS Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification. 

Launched in 2019, the programme has already proven highly successful and, responding to demand from employers in Scotland’s Central Belt, on campus teaching is now being delivered in Edinburgh as well as at RGU’s Aberdeen campus. The move provides students with access to the same expert tuition while reducing the need to travel, creating greater flexibility for both apprentices and employers. 

Gail Boag, executive director of learning at ICAS, said: “Welcoming our first RGU graduate apprentices to Edinburgh is a landmark moment for ICAS and for the future of the scheme.

“At our induction session this week we met apprentices from Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Lothian and Fife – a clear illustration of why expanding delivery into the Central Belt makes such a difference.”

Ms Boag continued: “The Graduate Apprenticeship is an accessible route to our world-class CA qualification – a passport to careers that reach far beyond accountancy, into leadership at the very top of business and finance. 

“For employers, it’s a proven, cost-effective way to grow outstanding talent. By expanding teaching into Edinburgh, alongside Aberdeen, we’re making it easier than ever for students to balance work and study without losing valuable time.”

The programme has already produced its first ICAS-qualified CAs, with graduates celebrated earlier this year at the ICAS Admission Ceremony, where 760 new members joined the profession – including the very first RGU Graduate Apprenticeship cohort.