Host
Jag Dhaliwal
Guests
- Andrea Cook, Director, Specialised and Lifelong Learning, ICAEW
- Sarah Milsom, Technical and Training Senior Manager, Albert Goodman
Transcript
Jag Dhaliwal: Hello and welcome to ICAEW Student Insights. My name is Jag Dhaliwal and today we’re discussing specialised learning as part of the ACA qualification. For students registering with ICAEW from the first of July 2025, specialised learning is a mandatory part of the qualification. Today, we’ll share all the information you need to know to approach and complete your specialised learning, including some top tips for getting started. I’m joined today by Andrea Cook, ICAEW Director of Specialised and Lifelong Learning, and Sarah Milsom, Senior Manager at Albert Goodman. Thank you both for coming in today.
Andrea Cook: Hi Jag.
Sarah Milsom: Morning. Lovely to see you both.
JD: Great. So Andrea, do you want to just kick us off? So what is specialised learning?
AC: Thanks Jag. Well, specialised learning is a new feature of the ACA qualification and effectively it’s a suite of e-learning courses that sit on ICAEW’s LMS, or learning management system. These are all bite-sized courses, so they’re between one and four hours long, and they cover a range of topics, so ranging from Excel to introduction to different sectors to courses that help you develop certain professional skills. The courses are available for your employer to see as well, so they’ll be able to look at the different courses that are on there and decide the ones that they think might be most relevant to you based on where you work, the clients you work for, or the sort of work you might be doing in the future. Students will need to do, as part of the ACA, at least 30 units of specialised learning, with an hour of learning equating to a unit, so a minimum of 30 hours of learning, really. But that very much is a minimum, okay, we really want students to engage with the platform and make the most of all the opportunities and the resources that we have on there. There’s going to be way more than 30 hours’ worth of content and lots to keep you busy.
JD: So we’ve mentioned this is e-learning. What can students really expect to see on the platform?
AC: So what you’ll see is a really engaging course that’s very varied and comprises lots of different types of learning. So there’ll be some text on there, there’ll be videos, there’ll be quizzes, there’ll be flash cards, some podcasts on there. So it’s really there to help students, whatever their style of learning. There’ll be all different methods and tools and techniques across the courses to support you.
JD: And Sarah, I believe you may have some experience already with the platform.
SM: Yeah. So very much, as Andrea says, that was the bit I really enjoyed the most when doing the testing – there really is something for everybody. You can cater to absolutely every type of learner, and there’s something to keep it resh and moving as you’re going through. So whether it’s a video or a card and some text. And the bit I’ve liked, particularly as an employer, was bringing it back to the actual role. So some of the sections I looked at was very much, this is your curious mindset, for example, but this is how it will apply to you in the workplace. And for us, that is really, really key with our behavioural skill training, that not only does it land, but it lands and people can apply it in the workplace, which is really, really vital to us.
JD: Yeah, that must be really useful that application.
SM: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that’s where the value will be really added to people, that they can understand how that will affect them every day.
AC: And I think one thing I would add there is, on the sector courses, we’re introducing different sectors, but we’re doing that through the perspective of an accountant. So we’re not just giving lots of facts about the manufacturing sector, but we’re then looking at that through the accountancy lens. So what might an accountant be concerned about? What might be the risks, what might be the accounting treatments that they’d need to consider in that sector? So really, to go back to what Sarah is saying there, it’s very much ensuring the relevance of these courses, and that they’re relevant to trainee chartered accountants.
SM: And that will really embed the learning. I think having that tailing back to the workplace will really, really embed what they’re learning throughout.
JD: And is this specialised learning examined at all?
AC: Not in the same way that the ACA exams are. So it’s very much about learning. And that is, that is really the focus of specialised learning. There will be assessments throughout, but those are more checkpoint or formative assessments to make sure that you’ve understood the content and taken away the key learning points. So there’s no real pass or fail mark for specialised learning. The key thing is, if you’ve worked through a course, you’ve completed all of the content, then you’ll collect those units, and that will flow through into your records.
JD: And is there a requirement for when this must be completed by?
AC: So you have to complete your specialised learning in order to apply for membership. But how you work through the courses is up to you and your employer. So you might want to do a minimum of 10 units per year – we’d probably advise that – but we want to be flexible so that you can fit your studies around how you work, your other commitments that you’ve got and what works best for you and your employer.
JD: Oh, that sounds really good. And why is this an important part of the qualification?
AC: I think it really complements what we have within the exams part of the ACA. So, as you know, that gives students a great grounding in the core essentials of finance, accounting and business. And what specialised learning does is it allows you to build on that and specialise in certain areas. You know, that might be technical topics, but it might also be professional skills. So you come out as a really rounded ACA student with those really core technical skills, but also some of the specialist skills and knowledge as well.
JD: And Sarah, I can see you nodding along. What is your perspective on this?
SM: I think having been lucky enough to be involved in the testing, it was really useful because I feel I can really talk about what that looks like. And we were really excited to see and hear everything that’s been going on with that, and very much that flexibility and agility is exactly what we’re looking for. So not only can we focus on what we’re looking at as a firm, responding to clients’ needs, responding to feedback, but also the trainees as well can shape and flex to develop themselves as all-rounded individuals.
JD: So they can really build on their own skills, is it?
SM: Yeah, absolutely, and really focus on where they’re going. And that’s complemented nicely by the other parts of ACA as well that link in so well to, to give that overall perspective.
JD: Who is it that decides what students study as specialised learning?
AC: It will be a combination of students and their employer. So all students will have access to the platform, and you should absolutely go on to the platform and have a browse and have a look at the courses that are on there, but your employer might also suggest which courses they want you to do as well. So I would suggest speaking to your employer, finding out what they want you to do, if they want you to do any particular courses, and then, by all means, then supplement that with extra courses if there’s anything on there that you think’s of particular relevance or interest to you.
JD: And Sarah, do you have an employer perspective on that?
SM: Yeah, so we as a trainee support team have reviewed this as well and think we’ll be taking a bit of a triplicate approach, so there’ll be guidance as a firm wide so we’ll have some consistency for all of our trainees, and they will be doing a suggested programme, very much behavioural skill focused within that, then looking out to the relevant departments. Again, the flexibility and agility of the qualification will come into play here because we can have the department sector-specific areas, such as introduction to agriculture for our farms and estates team, so they can guide on those areas. And then finally, an area for the trainee to pick as well. So anything they’re particularly interested in, anything they’d like to learn around and within that we’ll suggest that they take some of the emerging issues sections as well, so they keep up to date with the trends and what’s happening in the world.
JD: So you’ve just highlighted some courses there and it sounds like there is a real range. Andrea, what courses are available? Do you have more examples of these?
AC: Absolutely. So for launch, we’ll have about 25 courses, but we’re going to be constantly adding to the platform. So our plan is that within a year or so, we’ll have close to 100 courses on the platform. And like we said, there is a real range. So there are a range of introductory sector courses that, as Sarah said, introduction to the agriculture sector, introduction to financial services, public sector, financial services, a real range of different courses on those sectors. Then we’ve got the professional skills courses. So those are to really help develop those really essential professional skills like communication, project management, developing a curious mindset, communication and so on and so forth. And then we’ll have technical courses. So there’s a four-hour Excel course that really gets you up to speed on the fundamental Excel techniques that you’ll need as you progress through your ACA. There’s also a course on corporate finance, yeah, lots, lots more. And as we said, there’s plans to create even more courses as we go on. And I should also mention Sarah talked about the emerging issues courses, because this is something else that’s really exciting about specialised learning, that we can create courses on topics as they happen, so as there’s a Budget update, or as there are new financial reporting standards, or as there’s a new technology that’s really important for accountants. We can develop a course really quickly so that you as a student are really up to date and familiar and aware of what’s going on there in the real world that you need to be aware of.
JD: It sounds like a really valuable part of the qualification.
AC: Yeah, I think so. And I think looking back to when I was a trainee, I think this would have been so helpful for me to complement, as I say, everything that we did in the exams.
JD: No, absolutely. I feel the same. I feel it would be great if I had it when I was going through the ACA qualification. But, yeah.
SM: It’s something we’d like to take beyond that as well. I know you’ve talked about making it more available, so not only doing your 30 hours, but if we’ve got scope to support more, we absolutely would. We can react to any issues we’re seeing by topping up with those courses. And equally, I see it as a bit of a springboard, when you do qualify, to use those as well for areas as you progress, particularly beyond that point in those early years of post qualification.
JD: And then how is the specialised learning reported?
AC: So for students, you will see on your platform the different courses that you’ve done. You’ll also see on your ICAEW training file a dashboard that shows how many units you’ve done out of the 30 that you need to do. And then your employer, so like Sarah here, would be able to go into the platform and run a report to see how you’re progressing, to see which courses you’ve done, how many units you’ve completed. So there’s all of that reporting available for you, but also for your employer as well.
JD: Great. So there’s a lot of visibility there.
AC: Yes, yeah.
JD: And Sarah, what should students do now?
SM: I think the key really is to talk to your employer as well as having a good look at what’s there. There’s tons of stuff available on the ICAEW website, which is really good. I know our trainee support team have put an overall guidance for our firm in, which we’ll build out as things progress. But talk to your employer. How much are they intending to shape? How much flexibility will they give you within that and understand so that you end up on a good road together, really, I think to plan for that.
JD: Oh, great. So just try and plan ahead where you can.
SM: Yeah, very much so. And speaking of someone who has tested, I tested curious mindset, which I thought was fantastic. And one of my colleagues did corporate finance. This is probably my most overused mantra at work, is you get out what you put into it. So if you put a lot into that module, you’re going to get a whole lot more out. So that’s very much the guidance we’d be providing to our students.
AC: I was just going to add to that that, yeah, Sarah said, it’s all about investing in yourself, and we use that same phrase when we’re talking about members and CPD. And going back to that, that description I gave earlier, that this is like a form of CPD, but for students, you know, this is your opportunity to really develop yourself, develop your CV, develop your skills and your knowledge and, as I said, invest in yourself and into your future.
JD: So if anything, it should be a real benefit for the students.
AC: Absolutely.
SM: Yeah.
JD: It sounds like there’s lots students can do to get started. We’ll link to everything mentioned today in the show notes for this episode. Finally, I want to say thank you both for coming in today. Thank you so much for your time.
AC: Thank you.
SM: Thank you.
JD: Make sure you visit ICAEW Student Insights for ongoing support during your studies. On the Student Insights hub, you’ll find resources for completing the ACA qualification and ICAEW CFAB, as well as inspiring stories of students and recently qualified members. That’s all available at icaew.com/studentinsights. If you found this podcast useful, then make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and let us know what you think by writing a review on your podcast app. Thanks for joining us today. Bye for now.