Returning to study after time away can feel like a big step – especially when balancing work, family or a career change. At MK College, learners are supported every step of the way with tutors who understand the scheduling challenges of adult education and classmates who bring a wealth of life experience to the classroom.

Whether you’re refreshing your old skills or building new ones, the College offers a welcoming space to rebuild your confidence and take your next steps.

After relocating and embarking on a new career journey, Adrian decided to refresh his accounting knowledge and gain a formal qualification recognised in the UK. By enrolling on an accounting course at MK College, he has been able to build on his previous knowledge and move forward in a new role with fresh motivation and purpose.

Read on to discover how Adrian is building on past experience to move forward in his career – and how MK College is helping him get there.

Hi! What’s your name and what did you study at the College?

Hi, I’m Adrian and I studied an AAT Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting.

What motivated you to choose this course?

Back in my home country Romania I was an accountant. I studied accounting from high school onwards and had a career in accounting before moving to the UK. After I came here, I started working in a warehouse and now I’m a shift manager. I want to try and progress in my work. If I’m going to be moving up in my role, I need this under my belt to be able to progress – I’m going to need accountancy and finance knowledge for budgeting and other work. The skills from this course have already helped me at work and have also helped me gain confidence and get to know myself better.

I wanted to see if I still remembered what to do, after many years of working elsewhere. I also wanted to see if there are any differences between the countries and the laws surrounding accounting, and in terms of developments that have happened in accounting over time. I found that the concept and the principle were the same. For me, it was more about learning the new technical aspects of accounting.

I was also thinking about going back to my old profession and maybe there could be an opportunity for me to start my own firm. The first step is College – I know I have to start from somewhere!

How did you find your studies? Do you feel that you made the right choice studying AAT Accounting?

It was a good experience. It’s a really good environment and there’s a lot of information online – you can do things on your phone and PC, and you don’t really need paper. It was also a good environment to get used to working with other people from a wide range of backgrounds. My tutor Mo was also entertaining and had a lot of knowledge to share with us.

It was a bit tricky sometimes because I was working while studying. Sometimes I had to shoot off before the end of my class to make it to work. But I generally don’t find it too difficult to multitask – this was something I chose and my mind was set on it: even if I have to work, I still need to finish this course because I can’t afford not to and I want to get it done now. I didn’t have any issues with motivating myself. Now that I’m looking back, I’m feeling proud of myself.

What are your future career aspirations?

I want to work in a logistics environment and make some progress. I want my progression to be natural – I don’t want to take on a higher role and be incompetent. These studies will help me and I’m also planning to see if I can do anything with my studies from back home.

When I get older, I’d like to have a job I can do from home and accountancy opens doors to this type of roles. You need to keep up to date with it – I know accountancy 30 years ago was completely different, and what you used to do on spreadsheets you can now do online.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to apply for your course today?

You really have to think about why you want to do it. Is it because of social pressure and someone pushing you to do it, or do you want this? You also have to think about whether you have the skills and the right mindset, because it might not come naturally to everyone – you need to see if your subject is a good fit for you.

You have to be aware and mindful that sometimes things get tough and not everything in life is easy. You will have some bad days and there will be some things you won’t understand, but if you really want to focus, I think everybody can achieve anything. I give myself as an example to my team at work, showing them that I’m just like them. I started with an agency and I didn’t have specialist skills – they too can do what they put your minds to.

Learn more about AAT Accounting at Milton Keynes College by reading more here.