The Power of Community

The power of community

AAT’s Montanna Stafford (pictured) explains how the advisory groups allow you to harness the power of community

We are looking for 30. That’s 30 AAT students who want to make a difference!

AAT needs people who are willing to put up their hands and be part of a select group directly feeding in to improving the student experience of their peers and generations of students to come.

These 30 people have the potential to improve things today, but also to transform the AAT journey for learners tomorrow.

And before you ask: no, you do not have to be under 30 (or over 30) to be involved with this fantastic opportunity. All ages are welcome. Diversity is the AAT’s spice of life.

AAT’s advisory groups

Last year, AAT launched its advisory group initiative. As with many of the best ideas it was an innovation forged in the face of adversity. Challenging technical issues hampered the rollout of a new assessment platform. But knowing exactly how to fix it required ideas, testing and feedback from the people who sit assessments – students themselves.

This prompted us to look at how we can stay on top of these kind of issues going forward: harnessing the power of community to stay ahead of the game. As a result, our student advisory group was formed, along with an employer-focused group and an AAT training provider group.

The concept is straightforward – the groups are a regular discussion forum where AAT asks for group members’ views on important topics.

PQ magazine and its editor, Graham Hambly, supported the groups’ formation at the time and has done ever since. He says they are now a vital way to gather students’ views.

What to expect as an AAT student advisory group member?

Once an AAT student advisory group member is selected (by the end of August), they join the group for 12 months: from 1 September 2024 until the following September.

There’s one meeting every three months (three of these are online and there’s one face-to-face in London).

At the meetings you’ll be part of discussions on the future shape of qualifications, how we can improve delivering them to learners, what training providers can do, and what new support might be helpful for our diverse student community.

AAT listens genuinely to your feedback to help spot the practical improvements we can make.

Who is AAT looking for?

It’s all about learning from the experience of the wider community, taking on board different perspectives and giving a voice to everyone.

There will be space for students at any stage of their journey – all that’s required is a passion for sharing and enhancing the student experience.

AAT wants people who can bring their views, but also think about how others might be affected by something.

It’s about thinking through the many different perspectives across the student community. Why is thinking about others’ views something that is good for you? Because it gives us the opportunity to develop and practice some really important ‘power skills’, the skills that are in huge demand by employers right now and will define which accountants get hired in the future.

Applications are now open

The OG student advisory crew are now coming towards the end of their term. They are getting ready to hand over the reins to the next cohort of change-makers.

In fact, in less than two months, the secondever intake of advisory group members will be able to start shaping the future.

I want to thank our ‘guinea pigs’ (I hope they won’t mind me calling them that, because it’s from a place of love!). These amazing people have been willing to give this new, untested idea called ‘advisory groups’ a go. You came with your passion, your honesty and your open minds. What’s more, you’ve built a strong sense of community with each other.

I am proud to say that this group will be a model for future student advisors in terms of looking after each other and ensuring everyone can contribute and play a role in shaping the discussion. On a personal level, I’m really excited about continuing to foster that thriving, collegial community.

Now, for anyone considering dipping their toe in the water and registering their interest to join the next advisory group, I have one piece of advice: APPLY!

Now’s the chance to make your voice heard and be a part of the exciting changes we can build together.

We’d love to have passionate people on board with us on what will be a great journey for you and for us, to maximise the potential for everyone.

If this opportunity resonates with you, we want to hear from you.

Please visit the AAT website and complete the quick and easy expression of interest form before 31 July 2024.

• Montanna Stafford is a Product Manager at AAT