Former AAT apprentices Mark Clayton and Victoria Wainwright talk about stepping outside their comfort zones, the importance of kindness and how they’ll never stop being trainees.

Mark Clayton is CFO of China 2 West Services (C2W), a manufacturing and supply chain management company.

Victoria Wainwright is office managing partner at mid-tier accounting firm Azets.

Both started as AAT apprentices. Here they give their advice to anybody hoping to tread the same path.

How we got there: Our apprenticeship-to-CEO journeys

Mark: I studied AAT as an apprentice at a local practice in Northumberland. In 2007, at 20 years old, I left the UK for a gap year in China with an AAT qualification and not much in my pocket. I was then offered a role as finance and sourcing manager at C2W, before building a career in China through hard work and the belief that anything’s possible.

Victoria: I left school at 16 without a clear idea what I wanted to do. My grandmother spotted a job ad in the local paper for a role working at an accountancy practice. Luckily, I loved it! I completed my apprenticeship and became one of the first AAT-qualified people to study for a chartered accountancy qualification at ICAEW.

I worked at Bradford-based firm Naylor Wintersgill for many years, becoming managing partner in 2012, and helped grow the firm until selling to Azets in 2023. Today, we have 80 employees across three offices in West Yorkshire.

What advice would you give your former apprentice self?

Mark: Back yourself more. Don’t let fear, self-doubt or your background limit your potential. You’re capable of more than you think.

Victoria: Believe in yourself – you can do it! I wasn’t an academic high-flyer and failed some exams when studying for chartered qualifications. Determination and goal-setting will get you there.

What’s the best way for a current AAT apprentice to follow in your footsteps?

Mark: Don’t ignore the incredible learning experience in front of your eyes. AAT gives you real-world finance skills that employers genuinely value. What determines how far you’ll go is your mindset. Be curious, take responsibility early and don’t fear mistakes: people are more forgiving than you expect.

Also, don’t pigeonhole yourself as ‘just finance’. Great CFOs understand operations, sales, IT, manufacturing, HR and customers – not just the numbers. Get out from behind the desk. Learn the business. Build relationships. That’s how you become indispensable.

Victoria: Step outside your comfort zone. Push your boundaries and say ‘yes’ to opportunities, even if they feel like a stretch. And don’t hesitate to reach out for help from peers and mentors – people want to see you succeed.

What did you learn as an AAT apprentice that you still use today as a CFO?

Mark: Discipline. AAT taught me accuracy, ethics and the importance of doing the basics well – even when no one’s watching. As a CFO today with thousands of people depending on trust, those early lessons remain the bedrock of how I work.

The second lesson? Humility. My apprenticeship taught me I’m always a student: a mindset that’s stayed with me for 20 years.

Victoria: AAT developed my soft skills*. Being able to communicate with people, from the managing director to your colleagues is invaluable.

We’ve got 10 apprentices today. Sometimes, trainees are shy when they start their jobs. AAT helps them come out of their shell; it’s always nice to see how quickly their confidence grows.

*AAT refers to soft skills as power skills due to their value in the workplace.

How has continuous professional development (CPD) helped you progress?

Mark: Continuous learning is the reason I’m a CFO today. After AAT, I studied CIMA, earned a master’s in global management, became a CPA (certified public accountant) and constantly upskilled myself in areas beyond finance, such as supply chain, leadership, psychology, even diplomacy. I’m now learning AI. This isn’t just about logging CPD hours on an Excel sheet: it’s about becoming the kind of person who grows faster than your environment.

Victoria: CPD has been vital in my career, helping me evaluate my work and deliver a good service to clients.

What’s the best way to raise your profile as an apprentice?

Mark: Be someone people want to work with. Deliver consistent results (nothing builds a reputation like reliability), volunteer for projects outside your comfort zone, ask thoughtful questions (curiosity shows ambition and intelligence), network and share your journey publicly. I use LinkedIn for this.

Victoria: Get involved with networking, professional bodies and local societies.

I became an ICAEW council member at 26-years-old and served on multiple boards, including the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. I’ve also championed women in finance, hosted events, and supported girls in STEM.

What’s the best way for apprentices to acquire leadership skills early in their career?

Mark: Leadership starts long before you get a title. Learn to listen (great leaders understand before they speak), put people first and get involved in community/charity projects. My charity work has taught me more about leadership than any textbook ever could.

Victoria: Be kind to everyone! If you make people feel valued, you’ll go a long way.

Lessons for apprentices

Mark:

1. Purpose matters. Fulfilment comes from having a career you’re proud of but also helping others. In 2011, I founded Come Together Community, a charity which has raised $455,000 (£337,000) for local causes.

2. Find a mentor. Whether it was the practice partner during my apprenticeship, my dad, or my boss/business partner in China, mentors have helped me grow.

3. Remember: your AAT apprenticeship gives you credibility!

Victoria:

1. Always have a ‘can-do’ attitude.

2. Seek out a good mentor. They don’t have to be colleagues.

3. Positivity, passion and purpose. If you remain positive and have passion for what you do (you really need to care about your clients and work!) then you have the purpose for what you’re doing.

Rob Donaldson tells us about the importance of staying curious, challenging yourself every day and presenting your work well.

Rob Donaldson is CEO of RSM UK, but he began his career as an AAT apprentice at a small company which was later acquired by RSM. He tells us how he progressed from an apprentice to a CEO, and gives us tips on how you could do it too.

My apprenticeship-to-CEO journey

I started at a small firm in 1990, which was later bought by RSM. In 1996 I moved to a Big Four firm to learn a new discipline, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). But when I got the chance to return to RSM and build something from scratch I took a risk and jumped at that opportunity.

That was in 2000. I was made an M&A partner in 2001, was asked to lead the London corporate finance business in 2008, the national team in 2013 and then adding on the restructuring team in 2018. I became CEO two years later in 2020, a few weeks into Covid.

If you could go back and give your apprentice-self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Some careers follow a straight path, some zigzag. I started mine more by accident than design, but none of that mattered in the end. What mattered was showing up, doing my best, being curious and taking opportunities when they came. Many unexpected opportunities turned out to be the most rewarding as they taught me the most – my current job included!

So, I’d tell my younger self: you don’t need to have it all figured out. The path will become clear as you go.

Do your best every day

What’s the best way for an AAT apprentice to follow in your footsteps?

My first suggestion is not to try and ‘plan to become a CEO’. My own career wasn’t planned. I failed my A levels and fell into this profession through a job advert. Nothing about my early journey was deliberate.

I’d say it’s about always learning, trying to improve what you do and trying to make a positive impact. Do your best for your clients, every day, take the opportunities that come your way and create opportunities by putting yourself forward to do more. In the end, you progress if people see that you can add value.

Don’t expect that to just happen, it’s your job to help people see [your value]. It’s your job to make it happen.

The other key bit of advice is to always be curious about the businesses you’re working with. Don’t just turn up, do your job and move on. Try to understand what’s going on in those businesses, what challenges they’re facing and how you might be able to help them, either through what you do, or by bringing in others with the right expertise or experience.

Find out “why”

What did you learn as an AAT apprentice that you still use today as a CEO?

Understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. When you’re starting out, it’s hard. You’re given tasks and you might not quite understand how they fit into the whole picture. But the more you understand the context – the client’s business, the wider purpose of your work – the better you’ll do.

That curiosity about the ‘why’ has stayed with me. Whether doing M&A deals or running the firm, I have to understand the business, what we’re trying to achieve and how I can make a difference. I ask “why” a lot… Why do we do it like that? It is often a catalyst for change.

What role did continuous professional development and learning play in your journey?

Continuous learning is important. I did my AAT, then ACA, then moved from audit into corporate finance. That meant learning new skills, understanding different parts of the business and being willing to step outside my comfort zone. These principles have been relevant for my entire career, including my role today.

Presentation matters

What’s the best way to raise your profile as a young apprentice?

Do great work and present it properly. Your work must be technically accurate, but packaging and the presentation of what you do is just as important. Don’t let yourself down at the last hurdle with sloppy formatting, errors or poor presentation.

Learning how to communicate and present what you do in an easily digestible form is a key skill that can take you a long way. I don’t have many superpowers but one of them is an ability to think carefully about what I am trying to communicate and present that in an interesting way that leaves people with a clear understanding of what I want them to do.

If you do great work for clients, people notice. It gives colleagues confidence in you; it gives clients confidence in your business.

Work well with other people

Beyond that, be someone who shares ideas. If at some point you think “Why are we doing it like this? Could we do it differently?” then share those ideas. If they don’t get taken up, don’t be discouraged. Keep thinking about how things could be done better.

And don’t be a lone wolf. Succeed together. Play as a team. In my experience, the people who progress fastest are the ones who help others, who think about the whole, not just their own patch.

What’s the best way to acquire leadership skills early in your career?

Take responsibility for helping others learn. That sounds simple, but it’s powerful. When you’ve been in the business a year and new people come in underneath you, you have a responsibility to help them learn, to pass on what you’ve been given. That’s the beginning of a leadership journey.

Lessons for apprentices

The lesson for apprentices today? Three things.

1. Don’t think you need to have it all mapped out and don’t expect it to all just happen overnight. Focus on doing excellent work, spotting opportunities to help clients and being someone who makes things happen.
2. If you can demonstrate you’re not stuck in a narrow box – that you understand the wider business – you’ll progress faster.
3. To be great at what you do takes time, persistence, self-reflection and honesty. You have to take what you did yesterday and do it a bit better. And then do it better again the next day. That’s how over time you become excellent. Challenge yourself, every day.