This is a blog series which aims to provide our AAT Tutor’s insights into various topics around their role at Accountancy Learning.
For this edition, I spoke with Sarah Wilson, AAT Tutor. She kindly provided her expertise and perspective on the learning environment at Accountancy Learning.
For some background info on Sarah, click this link: Sarah Wilson – Accountancy Learning
Can you tell me about your role at Accountancy Learning?
I am an AAT tutor and although I mainly have apprentices, I also have a few distance learners as well.
My role is to support all my students through their AAT exams, provide guidance when they hit those tricky areas, and give them a little boost when they are feeling de-motivated for any reason.
With my apprentices I support them with their portfolio work as well as developing other soft skills. The support I provide is through teams meetings and emails and I have a variety of different types of meetings each day.
Another part of my role is to help with creating materials for our online learning environment and other revision resources that support our students. I try to think up new ways of presenting things for students and also try to create resources to help us tutors as well
Why did you choose this industry?
I spent the first 10-12 years of my working life moving around different roles before I studied AAT.
Prior to starting work I had always felt I wanted to teach, but I didn’t want to be in a school setting. It was when I did my AAT qualification that I realised this suited me and I knew what I wanted to teach!
Being a tutor is just an amazing role. Being in this industry allows me to help others, make a difference and help others see what they are capable of.
But also being in the finance world provides me with so many challenges and learning opportunities for myself as well
What do you most enjoy about your role?
Where do I start?! No two days are the same! Every day has its own achievements and challenges. I love how many plates I get to spin and how varied my role is. But there is one thing that absolutely is my top element of my job – my students.
Every one of them is different. From the shy, quiet ones to the chatty and more confident ones. Each student has something that I see in them that they don’t, and I love being able to pull that out of them and be with them as they find out their strengths themselves.
Of course all students will face their difficulties and I don’t shy away at that point. Trying to pick a student up when they’re down has its own challenges, but seeing them come through it and their words of thanks is worth more than anything.
The course writing element of my role stretches me as well, and this allows me to continue with my own personal development, at the same time knowing it is going towards helping overall with our courses. I also love making little videos to example a key point or run through an answer to a question.
All in all, I just simply love my job!
What should learners expect when studying an AAT course with Accountancy Learning?
In short: quality materials and a personalised service! From the moment a student enquires with us, the support team work tireless to ensure they have everything they need to make their studying decision.
Once enrolled, the team make sure everything is in place before they hand over to us tutors. I can’t give enough credit to the team we have working with us to support our students. Then as a student of ours, learners will be our priority at all times. We are dedicated to helping them through their courses in a personalised and supportive manner.
I like to get to know my students, so I understand how they learn and how they want to communicate with me. Our students will receive the highest level of care and will have access to all the materials they need to complete their AAT qualification.
Our tutor support is uncapped, so all questions are welcome and you can never ask too many!
How does the learning environment differ from other training providers?
For the apprenticeship side of things, I believe we are a little different to most providers because as tutors we take the student from the moment all the enrolment administration is done (by the wonderful support team we have) and we take them from sign up to completion.
This includes the technical side of their apprenticeship with their AAT studies, the portfolio written element and we also support their soft skills as well. As we see them through it all, we are their sole point of contact, we are consistent and we get to know them really well over time.
This only helps us further personalise our service to the learner, rather than having different tutors and coaches for different elements of their apprenticeship
We have produced our own materials and within this, our own revision materials. This enables us to focus on those areas where most students have difficulties, providing extra resources to help them pass their exams
What advice would you give to new learners that are thinking about venturing into the industry?
Don’t be scared! Any new industry is a scary prospect. Whether that’s moving from a different industry that you’ve know for years, or just finishing school and heading out into the big wide world; it’s scary!
But with finance if you feel you have a good eye for numbers, a methodical mindset or the ability to analyse and present data, then finance is the place for you.
If you love finance and you love helping people……tutoring is the place for you! Either way, take the leap and see what you can experience!
Are there any exciting industry trends or news stories that have caught your eye recently?
Well the thing really catching my eye recently is Artificial Intelligence (AI)! I watched a webinar recently about the progression of AI and I’m not sure whether I
’m in absolute amazement of what is now possible or terrified at the thought of where things might continue to go! Probably a bit of both to be honest! The way that AI has impacted us is quite substantial and there are some merits to it. Some automation of certain tasks can be really useful and the development of technology to assist with day to day things is great.
I think where it gets a bit more concerning is how easy it is to fake things these days. Whether that be a piece of writing which has been created from key words or fake pictures and even videos. It’s difficult to tell what is real sometimes, so that scares me a bit.
There are benefits and drawbacks to AI, but I think it is down to the individual to decide what impact it has for them and they can then be in control of it within their own lives.
Enrol with us today
If we have managed to convince you that the learning environment at Accountancy Learning is the right one for you, we have a range of course packages to choose from. Head here to browse: Courses – Accountancy Learning
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For any other questions, please get in touch with us, we are always happy to help.
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