Type of role: 4-year programme – combined certification and degree apprenticeship (Award of ACA Level 1 CFAB and Level 6 BSc Applied Digital Technology Degree).
Locations and starting salaries: London (£27,513) or Newcastle (£21,501)
Further information:
DFA Apprentice Scheme brochure - https://rb.gy/i041kf
CFAB - https://careers.icaew.com/find-your-route/icaew-cfab
Level 6 BSc Applied Digital Technology Degree – https://www.bpp.com/courses/data-and-technology/apprenticeships/digital-technology-solutions
DTS Apprenticeship standards - https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/digital-and-technology-solutions-professional-v1-2
Our ambition for our apprentices is that you will:
• Start a fantastic, purpose driven career in an inclusive and supportive environment.
• Get involved in challenging, inspiring work that makes a difference to the nation.
• Undertake varied work with an unrivalled network of high-profile government departments, public sector bodies and non-departmental government bodies.
• Obtain the Chartered Accountancy CFAB and a Level 6 BSc Applied Digital Technology Degree qualifications.
• Become a highly valuable and marketable IT audit / data analytics specialist.
• Learn more about yourself and your ambitions as you develop skills as a professional, a manager and a leader.
• Enjoy a supportive and social peer network and work with colleagues who are excited to support your development
We also offer an extremely attractive pay and benefits package:
• A highly competitive starting salary
• Fully funded ACA CFAB certification and level 6 Digital Technology degree apprenticeship
• 35 days’ holiday (including public holidays)
• Fully paid study leave in block release
• Civil Service pension scheme
• Opportunities to take responsibility early in your career
• An excellent system of support from NAO colleagues
The start date for the scheme is Monday 15th September 2025. We do not defer start dates so please only apply if you can join on 15th September 2025.
The role is based at our main office in London or our regional office in Newcastle city centre. If you accept an offer from us, you will need to relocate to your chosen location or be able to commute to that office. During your initial 3-month induction you will spend most of your time in the office and college. Once you have completed induction, you will be working alongside your colleagues in the office, onsite at client site or working from home.
Application Deadline
We recruit on a rolling basis and will close recruitment once all positions are filled. Please note that we may bring the application deadline forward if we receive a sufficient number of applications and make offers early. To avoid missing out, we strongly encourage the timely submission of your application.
If you need any reasonable adjustments during the process, please contact our team at HRServiceDesk@nao.org.uk so we can discuss how best to accommodate your requirements.
Responsibilities
As you navigate your path towards qualifications as an Apprentice, you will work with a diverse range of audited bodies including central and local government and work alongside seasoned professionals to deliver work that directly makes a difference to our society. You’ll start out by working as a team member supporting our core digital financial audits, building your skills through our training programme and 1:1 on the job learning and over time, have the opportunity to work on larger and more complex work. As we support you to develop your skills and confidence, you will have the opportunity to take more of a lead role, develop others and manage teams. At the end of your training programme, you will have the opportunity to specialise in either IT audit, data and analytics or have a mixed portfolio.
Our apprentices get involved in various projects which may require visits to audited bodies’ locations across the UK, and sometimes even further afield. You’ll get to work on audited bodies where you can understand how businesses really work and recommend how they can make improvements. Your work will contribute to Parliament’s scrutiny of Government, enable government bodies to build stronger systems of internal control and help improve public services through our high quality audits.