You know when you’re transitioning from a young teenager to a young person in school, when you are tasked with picking subjects that are going to affect which career you pursue in your adult life.
Part of this task also marks the start of work experience – a one week placement with an employer, to try and gauge whether you’d like to do the job you think you do. Crikey!
For one reason or another (1. I was incredibly shy. 2. I was incredibly unmotivated) I didn’t do work experience. I managed to wangle out of it, and got to go to school and do art for the week. I could think of worse things.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do after school. Some of the careers that stoked some interest included: police, midwife, social work or interior design. I ended up doing none of these; moving on to do Social Sciences at university and then working as a Support Worker within the Citizens Advice Bureau, then an Assistant Income Adviser with the local council. Now I own an accountancy practice…and I love it!
We have a 4th year pupil on placement this week, we’re trying to fill the week up with real life accountancy work, rather than the usual opening envelopes, scanning and filing – exceptionally boring tasks and who knows, perhaps when this young man goes on to be an accountant, we might not even use these methods?
Our placement is genuinely enthusiastic, asks very relevant questions and is keen to do well. I’m really pleased, because I feel that I missed out from my own lack of work experience.
As you can see from the header photograph our placement is well on their way to the world of accounting: neat organised piles of work, a cup of coffee and two choices of cakes!
If anyone within our field, is looking for a young person to train upon leaving school, we are more than happy to give a recommendation.
