My name is Mark Waddle. I am 18 years old, and I am a Modern Apprentice for Fife Council. In fourth year, I got the opportunity to apply for a Foundation Apprenticeship in Accountancy with Fife College. I applied for this course and started in August 2020 when I was in my fifth year at high school.
I completed the National Progression Award and a unit of AAT. I studied my way through the course and got plenty of support from my lecturer as they ensured I was getting my qualifications. This course also entailed work experience where I worked alongside an accountant from Fife Council
Since completing my FA, I then decided to progress onto a Modern Apprenticeship here at Fife Council. I am currently working within Marcus’s team where we do analytical work and studying more AAT units (currently AAT Level 2), I’ve completed my first exam and I’m currently working towards my second exam.
I enjoy doing a variety of work from team members as they help me with my core and professional skills.
Marcus Croy, Accountant at Fife Council said:
"It is refreshing and uplifting for our workplace to have a new Modern Apprentice to train and support as they are enthusiastic and very willing to learn so many new skills that will be of benefit to both them and the organisation.
By having a Modern Apprentice, we can train Mark according to the needs of our Finance service and the Directorate services we provide support to. Mark’s skills are improving every day because of the variety of tasks he is involved in. Our focus is in developing his core skills: Communication, working with others, problem solving, ICT etc.
It has been highly beneficial having a Modern Apprentice in the office, as Mark brings his new skills that he has recently learned at school to the workplace, and we can tap into his knowledge that assists us too in using IT, problem solving etc. Our colleagues can also share their knowledge with Mark for his learning and the benefit of our organisation.
I would recommend taking on a Modern Apprentice to any employer. As an employer it gives us the opportunity to provide training and develop the skill set of the Modern Apprentice, which will meet the current and future needs of our organisation."
