The fastest-growing accountancy firm in the country has launched an industry-approved training scheme – the first of its kind on the south of England.

Crunch Accounting’s academy has recruited eight trainees, including four accounting apprentices working towards their AAT Level 2 certification in bookkeeping.

The trainees will receive a mixture of class- room and on-the-job training before progressing to work with live client data.

Accounting apprentice Jason Cordingley, one of the new recruits, said: “The Crunch Academy provides a foot in the door of my chosen career, as well as a springboard into a fun and innovative company.”

Laura Hughes, Crunch Accountancy training manager, who is running the new programme, added: “By providing the training on-site at Crunch, we can offer a much more flexible and modern programme.

“Our apprentices will not only be learning accounting but also communication, software and marketing skills. They’ll learn how start-ups and freelancers work and how best to support these new businesses.

“By launching the Crunch Academy we can address the skills shortage we’re seeing while also creating more employment opportunities.”

The Crunch Academy is also looking to recruit for a number of new positions, including java developers of all levels, a senior user interface developer, a head of user experience and design and several enthusiastic account man- agers.

For more details go to www.crunch.co.uk