A stunning second act: Meet the accounting firm thriving thanks to career-changers

When Carter Clear Accounting wanted to expand its team, it recruited two older workers as apprentices. The firm has benefited in many ways, from building customer relationships to bringing in new clients.

Carter Clear aren’t alone in hiring more mature apprentices. Today nearly half (48%) of the apprenticeships started in 2022/23 were by people aged 25 and over.

These new ‘career-changer’ hires can boost their new companies in many ways. Many managers believe older workers are easier to train than new recruits, have better communication skills and bring expertise – and sometimes even clients – from the sectors that they previously worked in.

Warrington-based Carter Clear Accounting has hired two career-changers in recent years, placing them on apprenticeships. They share their stories here, plus director Caroline Carter tells us why grown-ups are good for business.

Meet the apprentices

Dave Bennett, 42, Trainee Accountant and AAT Level 4 Apprentice, Carter Clear

“For 20 years, I was a freelance sound engineer. It was a fun job, touring with bands such as Hayseed Dixie [an AC/DC bluegrass covers band] and working for large PA companies such as Ad-Lib Audio. Then Covid hit. Suddenly the industry I’d spent my entire life working in was decimated, with live music cancelled due to the lockdowns. At the same time, I’d hit a point where I really didn’t want to be doing student club nights at 4am for the rest of my life.

“Having worked as a sole trader, I’d always known about tax and business management, so decided to work in accountancy. In late-2020 I started studying AAT Level 3. After passing the exams, I started at Carter Clear as a Level 4 apprentice in summer 2022.

“I’m still gigging with bands in my spare time, where I often meet acts and their management teams who tell me they struggle to find accountants who understand the music industry. As a result, they’ve asked me to do their tax returns and I’ve brought them into Carter Clear as clients.

“Many of them had old-school accountants where everything was paper-based. At Carter Clear we can put these clients onto software which links to their online selling platforms. It gives them much more insight into what they’re selling in real-time, rather than waiting months to get a report from their accountant.

“The AAT qualification has been great too. The extra tuition and guidance I receive from a training provider is especially beneficial. If I’d attempted to become an accountant off my own back through self-study, it’d be much more difficult.

“Being an apprentice in my 40s has meant I’ve had to take a bit of a pay cut. But I’m not looking at this in the short-term; it’s a long-term plan that should build towards something in the future.”

Emma McGarity, 35, Trainee Accountant and AAT Level 3 Apprentice

“I was working as a cleaner before joining Carter Clear. After a couple of months working as a part-time admin assistant, I became more intrigued about the accountancy work and wanted to find out more. Caroline then asked, ‘Why don’t you do an apprenticeship?’

“When I first started, I was apprehensive. I thought everybody else studying AAT would be 16-years-old! But there’s actually a wide range of ages at the college. At 35, I’m one of the youngest!

“Working at Carter Clear as an apprentice has made me realise just how many transferable skills I had from my previous job as a cleaner. Back then, I was regularly dealing with invoices without realising that was part of accountancy. I’d also train the other cleaners, plus help run the day-to-day business. Sometimes I’d also clean shops: I’ve used this knowledge at Carter Clear, as many of our clients are in the retail industry.

“Being a newly single mum with three kids, I admittedly struggle to find time to study. But the business awareness part of the AAT Q2022 syllabus has been really useful. I’m starting Level 4 next year and can’t wait to get as many qualifications as I can.”

What the boss says

Caroline Carter FMAAT, Director, Carter Clear

“Emma and Dave are the first apprentices I’ve ever hired. They might not have worked with Excel before, but they’ve got life experience and bring loads of transferable skills from their sectors.

One of the most important skills is their ability to talk with clients. As a cleaner, Emma has worked in the houses of people who come from a wide range of backgrounds, from ordinary families to those who are very wealthy. As such, she can chat with anyone. Since joining Carter Clear she has built relationships with our customers. Sometimes the client doesn’t want to speak with me anymore – they want to speak with Emma!

Previously, we’ve had interns who joined straight from school. They were so timid, they jumped whenever you spoke to them! I doubt they would have progressed in the same way as Emma and Dave. Our great Google Reviews are testament to their client-building skills.

Career-changers also bring in-depth knowledge from their previous roles. Carter Clear has many clients in the music/entertainment industry. Sometimes I hear Dave chatting to them on calls about stuff that goes over my head. In fact, thanks to Dave bringing in clients from his music career (see above), it’s opening the industry to us, something we hope to develop in the future.

Because our career-changer apprentices have managed people in their previous roles, if we hired any new apprentices, I wouldn’t hesitate to let Dave or Emma manage them.

Luckily, the AAT qualifications are so well-rounded, it covers everything they need to know. There’s also room for flexibility too. Emma didn’t have any bookkeeping skills when she started, but fortunately our training provider First Intuition Manchester added the two Level 2 bookkeeping courses into her Level 3 apprenticeship. The new Q2022 syllabus is perfect for our needs: it’s more digitally-focused and covers business awareness. It gives me confidence our apprentices can do their job without any hand-holding. Through them, I’m learning new stuff too!

As a boss, it’s also great to give somebody a second chance. When I started AAT, I was a single parent with two kids, caring for my mum who had multiple sclerosis. Yet, fortunately, my AAT tutor found me a job that was flexible with hours. Today, I wouldn’t hesitate to let somebody else have a similar opportunity.

Thanks to Emma and Dave, I’m not as stressed or doing so much work anymore. It frees me up to develop other areas of the business, such as investing in LinkedIn training or hosting a brand strategy day. None of this would happened if I didn’t have two experienced hires on board.”

Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist/editor who has written for the Evening Standard, Sunday Times, Guardian, Telegraph, The Independent, Q, The Face and Metro. He's also written about business for Accounting Technician, 20 and Director, where he is contributing editor.