Established for over 30 years, the Cambridgeshire County Council Training Scheme offers graduates an extraordinary opportunity for a rewarding career in public finance and internal audit, allowing you to influence key local authority decisions that matter to communities.

We are looking to recruit a number of enthusiastic and determined individuals to join our scheme, specialising in Financial Management. Successful applicants will have strong communication and analytical skills and be able to think creatively. You are not required to have any previous finance or accountancy experience.

Successful applicants will have, or will be expecting to achieve, a 2:1 degree or higher in any discipline and 3 Bs (or equivalent in UCAS points) at A-Level or equivalent recognised qualification.

All trainees will study for the CIPFA Professional Accountancy Qualification at the CIPFA Education Training Centre in London and at the end of the three and a half years qualify as a Chartered Public Finance Accountant.

For the 2026 intake we have 2 vacancies on the Financial Management stream. Expected start date is early September 2026.

The application process will take the form of assessment centre to be held on 19 June 2026 followed by a final interview, to be held in June or July 2026.

Closing date for applications 3 June 2026.

What will you be doing?

Over three and a half years, you will undertake different placements in Service Finance, Corporate Finance and Internal Audit, on a 12-month rotation cycle. This gives you a breadth of experience across the whole council and teaches you a wide range of technical and managerial skills, so you can learn where your interests lie and have the ability to pursue a career in your chosen area. Each placement will provide you with real responsibility from the start. You will have a varied mix of monthly tasks and high-level projects, supporting the needs of your CIPFA studies and your development as a public sector finance professional. Opportunities include:

Supporting a selection of budget managers, including service managers and directors, providing professional financial advice to inform their decision making and maximise their service delivery

Supporting services through budget setting and monitoring, and advising on resource allocation and savings proposals

Working on projects to procure new services, from care home provision to our major highways contract

Gaining a knowledge of technical accounting and working across Public Sector organisations i.e. NHS Trusts, schools

Developing, completing and reporting on your own Internal Audit assignments to analyse and improve the Council’s control environment.

About you

Successful applicants will have, or will be expecting to achieve, a 2:1 degree or higher in any discipline and 3 Bs (or equivalent in UCAS points) at A-Level or equivalent recognised qualification. Please include details of all these qualifications with the grades or predicted grades in your application as they are the essential criteria.

Candidates should also demonstrate that they have the Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours detailed in the Person Specification pdf (attached below) in the Supporting Statement section of their application.

As this is a training role it is not eligible for visa sponsorship for candidates who do not already possess the Right to Work in the UK. Successful applicants must have the Right to Work for the entire duration of the programme (3.5 years).

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…

A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family

Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme

Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances

Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings

Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth

Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day

Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network

Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards

An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes