School leavers

You will need to be on target for or have achieved at least 112 UCAS tariff points (excluding General Studies) made up of three full A-Levels (or equivalent), and a Grade C or 4 or above in GCSE (or equivalent) English Language and Mathematics.

Applications for our Tax Apprenticeship Programme open each year in January to start in September of the same year.

Apply via our website using the Apply Now buttons.

Our application process is in 4 stages:

Stage 1: Online application form. You’ll start the application process by completing our online application form. This helps us get to know you and provides you with the opportunity to tell us why a career in tax appeals to you.

Stage 2: Online Assessments. If you are shortlisted and have met our academic requirements you will be invited to take an initial numerical reasoning test (NRT). Upon successful completion, you will be invited to sit a verbal reasoning test (VRT) and a critical reasoning test (CRT). Assessments must be completed within 5 days.

Stage 3: HR Interview. Candidates who successfully complete our assessments will be contacted and invited to an interview by one of our HR team. The interview is conducted by our Senior HR Advisor or HR Manager and held virtually via Microsoft Teams. It will take approximately 45 minutes and will explore your interest in completing the ATT & CTA qualifications and tax in general. We will also ask you some competency based interview questions. You will have the opportunity to ask questions as well, so please do! This is a chance for you to learn more about our Tax Apprenticeship Programme.

Stage 4: Final Interview. You may be invited back to our final stage interview where you will meet a tax manager and/or partner. This is your chance to impress. They will want to hear about your career aspirations, skills you can bring to Dixon Wilson and your understanding of the commitment required to qualify as a Chartered Tax Adviser.

You will also get the chance to meet one of our current tax trainees. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and get a real understanding of our programme & the culture at Dixon Wilson.

If you are successful one of our HR team will contact you with an offer to join us.

Support needed?

If you need to request an adjustment or additional support in the recruitment process due to a disability, health condition and/or being neurodivergent, you just need to let our HR team know. They will ask you some questions to better understand your request and to ensure we provide personalised support.

We have one intake each year, joining us in early September. Typically, we employ 2-4 trainees per intake. Joining us as part of a cohort of trainees means there is a strong sense of community, one where invaluable support from a peer is always on hand.

Aside from our minimum academic requirements and online assessment results, you must be committed to succeed in your examinations. We look for candidates who want to learn, are curious and enjoy problem solving; are adaptable when exposed to new situations and scenarios; that enjoy working with others, and have the aptitude to deliver a first-class professional service to our clients.

On your training pathway, you will firstly complete the ATT qualification and then the CTA qualification.

The ATT requires trainees to complete six exams - three computer based exams (CBEs) and three written papers. The CBEs are the same subjects for everyone – Ethics, Law and Accounting. Two of the ATT papers are also mandatory for everyone - Personal Taxation and Business Taxation. The third ATT paper is an optional subject - Dixon Wilson trainees complete Inheritance Tax & Trusts and Estates (IHTTE) as that is most relevant to client work at Dixon Wilson.

You won’t start exams straight away as we think it’s important for you to have a few months to settle in to working life at Dixon Wilson. There’s a lot to learn on the job and having foundational knowledge before college will set you up for exam success. Once you complete the ATT, you will discuss progression to the CTA with our professional development team.

The CIOT for the CTA requires trainees to pass the same CBEs as ATT (don’t worry, you don’t have to resit unless they time out) and complete three further written exams – two Advanced Technical (AT) papers and one Application and Professional Skills (APS) paper. We recommend you do the first AT in the first sitting, and the second AT with the corresponding APS paper in the second sitting – in the same subject means you maximise your study. Trainees at Dixon Wilson tend to do Taxation of Individuals and Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates (IHTTE) as that is most relevant to the client work that we do.

The list below shows a typical order of the subjects you will study:

Year 1

• Ethics CBE
• Law CBE

Year 2

• Personal Taxation
• Accounting CBE
• Business Taxation

Year 3

• IHTTE
• Level 4 Apprenticeship EPA
• CTA Advanced Technical – Taxation of Individuals or IHTTE (if not completed in year 4)

Year 4

• CTA Advanced Technical – Taxation of Individuals or IHTTE (if not completed in Year 3)
• CTA Application and Professional Skills – Taxation of Individuals or IHTTE

The amount of commitment and home study required should not be underestimated, especially after a full day’s work. Study time will depend on what level of exams you have coming up and will naturally increase the closer you get to each exam. Assistance and encouragement is always available from your colleagues.

You will benefit from a comprehensive training programme taught by leading commercial tutors, which is designed to enable our trainees to pass the examinations first time.

In addition, we have a unique in-house training programme which is designed to develop your client work and technical abilities. These are delivered by both internal and external specialist tutors.

As a school leaver on our Tax Apprenticeship Programme you will be paid a competitive starting salary. You will also receive a settling-in allowance, payable in the first month of employment, to help with any costs associated with starting a new job.

Our trainee salary progression framework is clear and transparent and rewards you based on successful completion of examinations. We hope that by knowing this ahead of time it’s not only motivating but also aids your financial planning. Going above and beyond in your work and applying advanced technical skills and knowledge is rewarded via our ‘Excel’ recognition scheme.

The London office working hours are Monday-Friday, from 9am to 5pm with an hour for lunch. Our trainees may be required to work overtime and this is paid at the relevant hourly rate. Excessive overtime is discouraged because of the need to prepare for examinations.

Benefits include:

• Paid overtime
• 21 days holiday in addition to statutory bank holidays
• Pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Paid time off to attend college, study and sit exams
• Discretionary end of year bonus, typically paid in December
• Season ticket loan
• 2 days per year to participate in volunteering initiatives
• Support with life’s challenges – Employee Assistance Programme and bereavement counselling
• Client referral bonuses
• Employee referral bonuses

Further perks consist of:

• Daily fresh fruit delivery for staff
• Drinks and snacks available throughout the day (donation asked for)
• 4pm finish on a Friday ahead of a bank holiday Monday
• Dinner is on us if you need to work past 7pm, via Deliveroo
• Wide range of social activities throughout the year

At the end of your four year programme, provided you have passed your exams, you will qualify as a Chartered Tax Adviser. That’s quite an achievement.

You may be offered the opportunity to continue your career with as a Tax Supervisor, taking full responsibility for your own portfolio of work and managing trainees. Thereafter our career progression & salary pathway from Tax Supervisor to Partner is clear.

At Dixon Wilson we have a 'never stop learning' culture - if you are interested in gaining additional relevant qualifications this is supported.

Outside of client work there are plenty of opportunities to further develop your skills. Become a software superuser, knowledge share lead, work on our website and social media or be a mentor or trainee co-ordinator.

Any employment offers are subject to an applicant providing the necessary right to work documents that demonstrate the right to work and reside legally in the United Kingdom (UK). We do not currently provide sponsorship for this level of role and therefore we’re unable to accept applications from candidates requiring visa sponsorship.

We want to make sure you have all the information you need. If you have any questions we haven’t answered here you can get in touch by e-mailing us at careers@dixonwilson.co.uk