Featured Apprentice
Prerna Bhogayta
“When you feel most uncomfortable and at your last string of motivation that's when you push — that's what you need to remind yourself to never feel like that again and you can only do that by working harder.”
Before the Apprenticeship
My year for A-levels was the year they reverted back to the old grade boundaries, so we got higher grade boundaries plus harder exams — it was the year that people got accepted into university without getting the grades they needed. As apprenticeships don't do that I took a year out to resit my maths A-levels. During that year I had normal jobs like retail, warehouse and managed to end it with a bookkeeping role. I didn't manage to get the roles I wanted for apprenticeships that year so I decided to apply in the next application year where I knew what to expect and how better to prepare, this led me the following year to achieve offers from firms, one including the Big 4. In summary I took 2 gap years where I learnt so much about the world outside of education which helped me achieve the offers for the apprenticeships.
Challenges & Barriers
I was the first in my friend group and family to do an apprenticeship so I had no clear guidance on how to start and follow through with it. This made it difficult to remain motivated when seeing the rejection emails especially when you see your friends at university living it up making you second guess your situation. But these barriers pushed me to work harder as I knew that this was the path for me.
“Being a hands-on person, I like to have application to my studying — like now I study assurance and apply that to my aud...”
Being a hands-on person, I like to have application to my studying — like now I study assurance and apply that to my audit work. Also having a real effect in the commercial world at such a young age that opens doors for you earlier than most people your age.
How I Found My Apprenticeship
LinkedIn honestly, I had never heard of my firm until I saw the positions the firm had. But once I started learning more about them, I knew that was the place I wanted as my stepping stone.
The Turning Point
The last rejection I got in my first application year — it made me annoyed that I wasn't achieving what I wanted but that motivated me to push and keep pushing and redirect my approach on applications, do more research, reach out to current apprentices and those getting offers too. Putting myself out there even when it was uncomfortable, so that I could be seen. When you feel most uncomfortable and at your last string of motivation that's when you push — that's what you need to remind yourself to never feel like that again and you can only do that by working harder.
My Current Role
As an audit apprentice you first start off with little pieces of work to get a feel of different aspects of work you will do, to get an understanding of the clients you work with, the type of documentation you deal with and working papers where all the testing and procedures get documented on. 6 months in now I get to actually do the testing, collect samples from listings provided by clients, communicate directly with the client with queries and clarifications. As I'm in audit public sector it's a bit different to those in mid-market (private), we work with local governments and other local bodies.
Impact on My Life
I feel like I have more of a role in society now, I want to contribute more. This thought never comes up much when your whole life is school as you're focused more on the now and what you do affects yourself only. Whereas what you do working no longer has singular impacts but multiple — everything I do now is with intention. I definitely have gotten more doors of opportunities and responsibilities working in this role which will help me in the future when trying to secure higher job roles. I've also become more responsible with my finances especially as I've moved to a new city where I have to rent, buy food etc. You really have to choose your time otherwise you won't have a good work-life balance. You also appreciate the days where you can go back to your small town to do nothing. Being busy with work and studying you sometimes forget to just sit and have a moment.
How I now present myself mentally and physically — this has changed due to moving to a whole new city (from a small town) and starting a new job where you have to meet new people and make new connections.
Advice to Aspiring Apprentices
“Take the jump — it's easy to feel you can't do it and then never put a thought on it again. But if you take the jump, your life can change. Not only do you give yourself a job with a qualification (if you choose a role with one) you also give yourself an opportunity to join societies where you meet different people with different journeys. It's a pathway that will only open up more opportunities for you and teach you so much more than you would think. I genuinely have zero regrets choosing an apprenticeship over going to university. And keep pushing no matter the struggle, find the motivation in the struggle to keep going — if we have done it so can you!”
Prerna Bhogayta
Audit Apprentice · Forvis Mazars