As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Marcus Westmooreland about his experience as an apprentice at Jackson & Green Accountants.
Marcus began his Apprenticeship at the accountancy firm in June 2018, after not achieving the grades he wanted in A Level.
He said: “I wasn’t happy with the results I achieved, so I took a year out then I started looking at Apprenticeships. In my year off I was weighing up whether to go to university or do an Apprenticeship. I decided that fully intensive classroom-based education just wasn’t for me – I wanted to get stuck into something more practical and more hands on whilst learning at the same time.
“I chose an Apprenticeship over university because you don’t have any debt for starters. I think if you can get to where you want to go through an Apprenticeship then why go to university? For me the benefits of an Apprenticeship outweigh university massively because you get paid, you get the job experience, so you’re not only qualified by qualification but also by experience.”
Marcus had continued his part time job at McDonalds in his gap year but said that following that career path wouldn’t have inspired him the way his Apprenticeship does.
He said: “I could have carried on in my job at McDonalds and kept on climbing the ladder, I was offered a management position, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. The enthusiasm just wasn’t there, I wanted to start building a career. This Apprenticeship is enabling me to do that because I am getting all the support I need plus a lot of real world experience.”
On a typical day, Marcus will carry out a number of tasks for the firm, including general admin, setting up client accounts and pitching in with whatever needs doing in the office.
Marcus added: “The thing that I love the most is that I can just come in and I feel really at home within the team, we have a great working relationship.
“I have learnt how to be a professional and talk a client through something and give them advice, my confidence has gone through the roof massively. The communication and teamwork with the team here is really good.”
Marcus continued to say that his one day a week at College gives him the in-depth knowledge he needs to apply to his Apprenticeship.
And would Marcus recommend an Apprenticeship?
“If you can do an Apprenticeship in what you want to do then why not?”, he said. “You earn money, get the work experience and the qualification.”