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Learner Profile: Joe

Joe Started his Accountancy Apprenticeship in October 2014 aged 17 after trying to study A-Levels at College for a year and realising it wasn’t the route for him.

He had heard about Apprenticeships through friends and family and later found Training 2000 online.

Joe recall’s how he nearly didn’t end up working for Gow and Partners; “I remember being accepted by Mr Gow at Gow and Partners Ltd via a phone call in early September 2014 after my job interview and was thrilled. I was told I would receive another phone call with my start date but this did not happen for a couple of weeks.

I and Training 2000 (Gill Makin) were unable to get in contact with Mr Gow after several phone calls/emails and I remember thinking I would have to start looking at other alternatives and start my interview process with employers again. Out of the blue, I received a phone call from Mr Gow in early October asking me to start.

Mr Gow had fallen ill and with being a one-man band company at the time, Mr Gow was unable to contact me to let me know. He was thankful I waited. Looking back, I’m also glad I waited.”

Joe never expected to be liaising with so many clients/people, learning so much about accountancy/ business in such a short space of time. He was never a confident person as a young teenager and to have to speak to new faces every single day was a challenge for him. A few months into his apprenticeship, Joe was given a bankruptcy case to complete. Around this time, you had to go to the court in front of a judge to finalise the bankruptcy case. He was 18 and this is a proud and stand out moment of his.

Over the next couple of years, Joe gained knowledge and confidence from both work and his classes at Training 2000. Passing his exams, visiting clients across the country, completing accounts and tax returns, day to day routine activity and much more. Joe then completed his AAT qualification and Apprenticeship in January 2019.

Joe said of this time “I was on the train to Newcastle to watch Blackburn Rovers play Newcastle in the FA Cup when I received my final exam result. I obviously enjoyed that weekend although Rovers unfortunately drew 1-1.”

Joe says he has grown so much as a person not just as an accountant. Mr Gow’s nurturing is a big part of why he is who he is today. He gave me him confidence to approach different types of people every day, to work hard and to persevere. Learning/watching Mr Gow’s tireless commitment to his job, motivated Joe in his dream to one day own his very own accountancy firm.

In January 2020, Joe became director and 50% shareholder of Gow and Partners Ltd at the age of 22. He had saved up money from his earnings over the past few years and was able to buy 50% of the business from Mr Gow. The other 50% had been purchased by his colleague Kyle Lawrenson whom started working for Gow and Partners Ltd in June 2016. He too, had studied and passed his AAT qualification through Training 2000, and together, Joe and Kyle purchased shareholding in the company.

They are currently striving with a huge number of clients and are looking to expand even further. They have also recently moved to bigger offices and have implemented new software into the business to help achieve this.

Joe concludes “deciding to pursue my career choice through the apprenticeship route was the best idea I could have had, not just for where I am now in my career, but because it made me into who I am now as a person.”

Joe reiterated that he would highly recommend an Apprenticeship at Training 2000 for anyone who wants to learn hands on and progress into a career of their choice!