Rachel Downes, a Level 3 AAT Student, has worked in kitchens all her working life. She came to college because she no longer wanted to work in kitchens, she wanted a new challenge. Rachel found some of the units challenging and struggled with her confidence but she has now successfully gained an apprenticeship at Mitchell’s accountants in Chesterfield.
We spoke to Rachel about her career change and the apprenticeship opportunity she starts in 2 weeks’ time.
Trying something different.
“I chose accounting because of the opportunities it gives to go into different jobs, not necessarily just accounting but other sectors too. I went to university and did costume design, I’ve never been very academic with Math, so it’s something I’ve avoided. I thought I’d give it a go now my daughter is at school and try something a little different. Being in the evenings is really helpful too, I’ve enjoyed it so far and it’s been better than I thought it was.”
From catering to college.
“I ended up stumbling into working in kitchens for the past 9 years. I just fell into catering, it’s never something I wanted to do. It was just getting a job and making money and it paid for everything, but I’ve never enjoyed it. I now want to challenge myself, I have confidence issues and just putting myself through this has helped me.”
Successfully gaining an apprenticeship.
“I chose accounting due to the opportunities and areas you can work in. I start an apprenticeship at an accountants in Chesterfield soon. I will be able to put my skills into practice. After the apprenticeship, if you do well, they generally offer you a position, so I will see how that goes. My tutor said a few people are working there so it was reassuring to know how positive people have been about the experience.”
College is the way to go.
It was daunting coming back at first but my husband has been really supportive of me coming back and doing something different. I think college is the way to go. It’s affordable and nice how close it is to home, I didn’t want to move away. It’s boosted my confidence too, I’ve done loads of things this year, the 5K, a new job and now an apprenticeship.”