A Donegal man has added new career options after following a new path into Accounting.
Patrick Doherty from Buncrana, aged 46, finished his second year of an Accounting Technician course this summer with Donegal ETB’s Further Education and Training (FET) Service. Two months later, he secured full-time employment with a local firm.
With a background in computing, Patrick took on the two-year Accounting course to open up new avenues and new job opportunities, which were easily found.
A former Fruit of the Loom employee, Patrick studied Computing and Business Applications after the company relocated from Donegal. He then studied Software Development and secured a job with IBM in Dublin for five years. Redundancies struck his division and he moved home afterwards.
In search of new options, Patrick decided to apply his skills to an Accounting Technician course in 2018.
This programme teaches students transferable business skills, as well as technical knowledge of finance and accountancy practice.
Patrick’s education had already equipped him with key skills for the programme, such as having attention to detail, meticulousness and being able to spot problems and errors.
“I’d always been reasonably good with numbers. The mathematics isn’t too difficult in this course, it’s more the application, knowing what to do and how to do it.”
The course also prepares students for professional accountancy exams with Accounting Technicians Ireland.
This was something which Patrick says the ETB tutors were particularly good at.
He said: “All tutors were very supportive. They were always willing to help and answer questions, and when the centre closed due to Covid-19 they set up Google classroom and were helping us as much as they can.
“They are very good at preparing you for exams, having knowledge is one thing, knowing what to do, how to time an exam is another. One of the toughest things in an exam is time, it’s what could beat you no matter how much you know.
“I found in both years we were very well prepared for exams. In every module, we did past papers and sample papers as part of your education. You are exposed to those questions on an ongoing basis and you know what to expect.”
Patrick’s goal was to pursue a job as an Accounting Technician, which is a profession in its own right. There is strong employer demand for accounting technicians both locally and nationally.
Now, with a new position at McEleney Doherty Accountants in Buncrana, he plans to continue learning as he builds up his two years of experience required for an Accounting Technicians Diploma. All the while, he is enjoying each day at work.
“The days fly, next thing you know it’s Friday, it’s great,” Patrick said.
The other option that students of this course can take is continuing in education and taking advantage of the full year exemption that the qualification offers in the Business (Honours) Accounting programme at LYIT. Some students also pursue jobs in the civil service.
Patrick had already gained some work experience in a local Chartered Certified Accountants firm. This is offered as part of the course and was an enjoyable experience for him to put his new skills into practice for the first time.
“It was probably the first time I’ve gone on to a job and knew what I was supposed to do from the beginning,” he said.
Other benefits of the programme are intensive career preparations, as Donegal ETB offers weekly tuition on CVs, interviews and job seeking.
To sum it all up, Patrick said he would recommend the course to people with an interest in the accounting sector.
He said: “Anyone who’s done it would tell you it’s very intense, there is a lot of work and a lot of study, but it’s a very good course to do. It does open a lot of doors, it gives you a lot of options career-wise. I would recommend it if you’re anyway interested in this at all, I would say it’s a good course to follow. If you take on the course and enjoy it, you will enjoy the work when you get into it.”
If an Accounting Technician course interests you, recruitment is now open with Donegal ETB for September 2020.
Apply online today, click here: https://bit.ly/2Yg57l0
For more information, contact Donegal ETB by emailing adultguidance@donegaletb.ie or complete this web form and they’ll get back to you: https://www.donegaletb.ie/further-education-training/adult-guidance/
This specific skills training is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.
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