My name is Chris, I’m 33 and I started my apprenticeship in September 2021. I am now just over halfway through my studies and I’m hoping to qualify in the second half of 2024. So far, I have really enjoyed the course and the things I have learnt are already coming in useful in my day to day role at work.

I have 3 kids and accountancy is a second career for me, I used to work as a chef but needed something with more family friendly hours! It had been a long time since I had completed any formal qualifications but, I’ve found that the apprenticeship is well designed for easing you back into studying. There’s good personal support and also, the workload and complexity builds up slowly as you go through the course so it didn’t feel overwhelming. Trying to revise for my exams around the kids has been quite a challenge and so I have particularly appreciated the revision course that my college puts on ahead of each of our key exams. Those sessions have really made the difference in the exams I have done so far.

There are several strands to the apprenticeship, the college tuition and exams, the ongoing development at work and the more reflective and ethics based aspects. The variety keeps things interesting and the different strands are overseen by different people giving me a wide range of people who I can call on for help or advice if I need it.

I’m looking forwards to continuing my studies and I would recommend the apprenticeship route to anyone who asked, but, given my own background, I would especially recommend it to anyone who is thinking about a career change or who is nervous about having not studied for a long time.

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