Accounts assistant Review

I maintain the finance of 3 different sites of car store. I get sent invoices daily that need to be posted and processed. I also pay off suppliers statements and complete urgent payments. Each task has a specific method including authentication and verification of banking details. I must keep in contact with my sites daily otherwise they won’t do certain tasks which would stop me completing any jobs for them.

I’ve had a year away from any work/study and so I know I wasn’t as efficient as before but I’m starting to notice a transition. Typing - I hadn’t touched a computer keyboard in over a year therefore I type slow and need to check if I’m hitting the right keys. But I’m gaining more confidence and speed as I’m on a keyboard all-day. Telephone Skills - in my past jobs I never needed to use a telephone and don’t particularly like speaking on the phone in my everyday life, but since returning to work it’s no longer an issue as I’m more concerned with solving my query than anything else.

I’m still settling in so I can’t give much feedback as I haven’t experienced it fully, but I’ve been given lots of study material and which were delivered to my workplace. I plan on using the support of my apprenticeship support team at my place of work alongside the other apprentices that have been around longer than me.

In my induction emails I had been given a break down of how long each unit should take to study (months) and how many exams it consists of, as well as a weekly timetable of how long we should dedicate to certain tasks such as home study, work task and revision.

As previously stated,I’m fairly new to the team and I’ve been given lots of guidance from my Team Leader as well as my colleagues. I’ve also been informed by colleagues and many others that if I ever need help in regards to my studies that they would all happily offer the guidance.

Support being offered has been a key factor, many emails state certain numbers or emails to contact if support is needed. In my registration there was a page asking if I needed someone’s call me from the support team to help me decide what level to start at and which units to take but I am still awaiting for further contact.

I’ve looked at the units and can see how they relate to my job role so I know that when I study each unit it will help further my knowledge of each process and the purpose of it. I’m fairly confident that I will be doing my job efficiently with the qualification.

We have dress down fridays on the last Friday of each month, this is normally done to honour a different charity each time and fundraise for them. We also have chocolate Friday, every Friday a person comes round with a tray of chocolate and you can take a chocolate bar FREE OF CHARGE !!!! we have a perfume lady that comes buy once a month that sells genuine high brand perfumes for a discounted price. And a sweet man that comes once a month with a large pick and mix selection.

Yes

There’s so many benefits, I’m being paid a normal wage and not an apprenticeship. I’m being funded to gain a qualification which can easily launch a career and make me financially stable. The recruitment process required no tests. It amazes me that I’m sat next to my colleague who went to uni to do an accountancy degree who’s now in thousands of debt but yet we’re doing the exactly same job, and I’ll be qualified without the debt.

As cliche as it is - don’t be nervous. The recruitment process for me was filling out an application online, a speed dating style interview, group discussion and that was it !!! I was so confused as I thought that it wasn’t an efficient way to know if someone was right for the role and maybe they were Doing the lazy thing of judging us at face value. But no they somehow seemed to picked the right candidates as staff turnover is low and everyone seemed very job orientated. I 100% recommend applying and don’t doubt yourself. I dropped out of uni from a maths degree as I fell pregnant and wanted to dedicate a year of my daughters life to just tending to her needs and now a year later I’m starting fresh. I’m juggling being a mummy and an accounts assist that has to study and it kills me that it’s gonna take me 3 years in this full time role to qualify which is the same amount of time before my daughter starts school,so essentially “missing” a solid chunk of her childhood. But I’m doing this all for her and myself,so she has a role model of a mummy that works hard for what she wants and to afford the lifestyle we deserve.