Joe Hughes discusses his role as an Accounts and Finance Apprentice as The Wigley Group celebrates the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week between February 7-13.
I’ve always been a more consciencous ‘doer’, than a theoretical learner.
For me, that made an apprenticeship at The Wigley Group an ideal way to begin my career.
I have always had an interest in numbers and data after discovering a passion for producing and analysing spreadsheets while studying business at Sixth Form, and then going onto explore this further at university with an accounting and finance degree. However I wanted to take a more practicial approach to gain qualifications through on-the job experience and part-time study.
My role as an Accounts and Finance Apprentice offers just that, enabling me to apply skills I have developed through various roles at different companies, as well as being able to enhance my knowledge and understanding of business transactions and record keeping.
Studying this at university on a similar course was something that I enjoyed, but my problem was never seeing tangible results for the work I was doing, and instead repeating one hypothetical situation after another.
However I am now applying my theory in practical scenarios. I get to follow the products of my work all the way through to fruition, which allows me to learn far more and learn and develop on the job.
In the last month I have been able to review the initial six months of the company’s activities based on daily data which I have inputted. That enables me to gain a far better understanding on the real-life impact these numbers have on the the final financial results for the year.
Already in the short space I have been here since joining in June, I have learned so much. An apprenticeship was the perfect oppurtunity to gain the experience and develop the skills I was so eager to attain, whilst working for a dynamic, fast-moving company.
The experience has been invaluable and shows why an apprenticeship for me – and so many others – is a great option.