Finance Apprentice

NATURES WAY FOODS LIMITED

West Sussex (PO20 9HP)

Closes in 13 days (Tuesday 29 September 2026 at 11:59pm)

Posted on 14 September 2026

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Summary

Kick-start the next stage of your accounting career with Nature’s Way Foods who are looking for a motivated Finance Apprentice to join their busy team. You'll work towards your AAT Level 3 qualification, gaining real-world experience while receiving expert mentoring and benefiting from dedicated study time to help you succeed.

Wage

£19,000 a year

Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course
Assistant accountant (level 3)
Hours
Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm, to include 6 hours study time per week and breaks.

40 hours a week

Start date

Wednesday 25 November 2026

Duration

1 year 3 months

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

What you will gain:

  • Hands-on experience in Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, learning the fundamentals of finance in a fast-paced business with a turnover of over £400m
  • The opportunity to explore other areas of finance, including management accounting, reporting, and financial planning

How they will support your growth:

  • By building strong finance foundations in Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable during your first 9-12 months, including invoice processing, payment runs, supplier statement reconciliations, sales invoicing, debt monitoring, bank and ledger reconciliations, and month-end support
  • Rotation into wider finance areas, subject to business need, gaining exposure to management accounts, FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, fixed assets, capex tracking, audit support, and technical accounting under guidance
  • Moving towards a defined finance role aligned to your strengths and interests while completing your apprenticeship qualification and end-point assessment

Key Responsibilities:

  • You will deliver accurate, timely finance processing, maintaining high-quality data
  • You will resolve queries and discrepancies, building effective relationships with suppliers, customers, and colleagues, support process improvements
  • You will follow NWF policies and financial controls
  • You will complete your apprenticeship coursework and off-the-job training

Who you will be:

  • Someone with a Level 2 AAT qualification and GCSE minimum grade 4 in Maths and English
  • Someone who is proactive, curious and eager to learn, showing initiative in seeking opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills
  • Someone who has strong attention to detail and take pride in producing accurate, high-quality work
  • Someone personable with effective communication skills and the ability to work with colleagues across the business
  • Someone ambitious, motivated and keen to build a long-term career within finance and / or interest in the food manufacturing / FMCG sector
  • Someone with some prior exposure to a finance or administrative environment

Where you'll work

Drayton Site
Park Farm
Chichester
West Sussex
PO20 9HP

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

CHICHESTER COLLEGE GROUP

Training course

Assistant accountant (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents
  • Assist with the investigation of, and response to, financial information queries.
  • Record and analyse financial data using the organisation’s standard tools and processes.
  • Apply double entry bookkeeping and accounting standards to process financial documents, generate financial statements, and report financial information to users of accounts.
  • Assist with production of accurate financial information for the preparation of accounts.
  • Reconcile financial data, such as preparation of reconciliations or review of reconciliations.
  • Investigate, resolve, or escalate transactional queries and errors within their remit as appropriate.
  • Develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders.
  • Communicate financial information in a way that non-finance stakeholders can interpret and understand.
  • Utilise digital skills to present key financial information using finance and accounting software and applications.
  • Use software packages to assist with basic accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
  • Communicate using a range of approaches and media, with an understanding of the risks and benefits to the business of social media and other digital applications.
  • Assist with the investigation of, and response to, financial information queries.
  • Record and analyse financial data using the organisation’s standard tools and processes.
  • Apply double entry bookkeeping and accounting standards to process financial documents, generate financial statements, and report financial information to users of accounts.
  • Assist with production of accurate financial information for the preparation of accounts.
  • Reconcile financial data, such as preparation of reconciliations or review of reconciliations.
  • Investigate, resolve, or escalate transactional queries and errors within their remit as appropriate.
  • Develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders.
  • Communicate financial information in a way that non-finance stakeholders can interpret and understand.
  • Utilise digital skills to present key financial information using finance and accounting software and applications.
  • Use software packages to assist with basic accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
  • Communicate using a range of approaches and media, with an understanding of the risks and benefits to the business of social media and other digital applications.

Training schedule

This training schedule has not been finalised. Check with this employer if you’ll need to travel to a college or training location for this apprenticeship.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • English (grade 4)
  • Math (grade 4)

AAT Level 2 in:

Accounts (grade 2)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • IT skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Administrative skills
  • Number skills
  • Team working
  • Time management
  • Willing to learn
  • Prioritisation
  • Multi-tasker
  • Proactive
  • Reliable
  • Punctual

Other requirements

Things you need to know:

  • This is a 19-month apprenticeship including end point assessment
  • Learning will be work based with occasional attendance at Chichester College
  • To apply you must already have achieved your Level 2 AAT qualification
  • To apply you must have lived in the UK for a minimum of 3 years before the start date of the apprenticeship learning and have authorisation to work in the UK
  • You cannot apply if you already have a qualification equal to or higher than the apprenticeship standard being studied
  • You can apply if you have a higher qualification than the apprenticeship standard in an unrelated subject
  • A full UK driving licence would be advantageous due to the location of our sites and the multi-site nature of the business
  • The role may involve occasional travel between locations, making it easier to gain exposure to different teams, operations and finance activities across the organisation

About this employer

At Nature’s Way they love food! It all started in 1994 with bagged salad and now they are a leading and award-winning manufacturer of fresh convenient food such as prepared salad, food to go, dressed salads, coleslaw and potato salad with more exciting categories to come, supplying to some of the UKs largest household name supermarkets and restaurants.

 

Operating at four sites on the scenic south coast, Nature’s Way Foods (NWF) is now one of the largest employers in the area. They are immensely proud to employ a diverse team of nearly 1200 talented, committed and high performing people, valuing their individual strengths, talents, industry knowledge and experience.

https://naturesway.com/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).

Following the apprenticeship, there will be opportunities to progress into wider finance roles, gaining experience across management accounts, FP&A, fixed assets and audit support. This exposure will help develop technical and commercial finance skills while working towards a defined role aligned to the apprentice’s strengths and interests. Successful completion of the apprenticeship and end-point assessment will provide a strong foundation for long-term career progression within the finance team.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CHICHESTER COLLEGE GROUP

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000053357.

Apply now

Closes in 13 days (Tuesday 29 September 2026 at 11:59pm)