Former Apprentice Case Study – Amy Smith

Amy finished school in 2012 at which Maths had been one of her strongest subjects. After a period of work experience in an accountancy firm, this confirmed Amy’s aspirations for a career in accountancy.

She applied to various colleges to study for her accountancy qualifications, in the end accepting a position at Stourbridge College. After some time, Kidderminster College got in touch with her and asked if she was still interested in an apprenticeship opportunity as one had come up with a local employer. Amy leapt at the opportunity to continue her studies whilst also gaining the practical experience in an accountancy firm. Amy attended an interview and shortly afterwards she was offered a place at SW&A Accountants in Hallow in 2013 aged 17.

During her time employed at SW&A Accountants, Amy completed her AAT (Association of Accounts Technicians) qualifications at Level 2, 3 and 4, the majority of the time studying at Kidderminster College and just taking the last few exams at Worcester College. She finished her Level 4 qualification in 2018 and started her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) course on block release at Reed Business School Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire – again studying this as an apprenticeship.

Amy became Manager of the Accounts dept in March 2019 aged just 23 years old and on 1st December became a Director of SW&A Accountants. Amy says, “Put simply, I love my job!”

Her advice to anyone considering their future career path is to give serious thought to apprenticeships and give serious thought to the future. “So many of my friends opted for university because of the student lifestyle. But an apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to gain qualifications and experience and I’m now a Director of a business at just 23 years old when many of my friends have only left university just a couple of years ago.”