Liam Wild is a Client Accountant at Savills. Liam joined us on a Level 2 Study Programme after finishing school in 2019 and stayed with us until he completed his Level 4 Professional Accounting apprenticeship last June.
Liam has recently been awarded Apprentice of the Year at the AAT Training Provider Awards after being nominated by his tutors. We caught up with him following this fantastic achievement to find out more about his experience during his apprenticeship and what he has been up to since completing.
Tell us a bit about your role
I’m a Client Accountant so I deal with property accounts, which is a little bit different from typical accounting.
I look after different portfolios from all over the country and make sure that the property is being managed correctly. This involves working with all of the people that are onsite at a property including centre mangers, cleaning staff, and surveyors to make sure that everything is running smoothly, and all bills and charges are paid.
I am the lead accountant on some of the biggest shopping centres in the UK. I am heavily involved in the production of key client reporting which feeds directly into the management accounts. This role is really giving me an opportunity to showcase my skills that I have learnt from when I completed my AAT with the Growth Company.
How did you find out about the Growth Company and why did you choose an apprenticeship?
I went to a careers fair at my school and the Growth Company had a stall. They told me about all of the courses available and the sectors I could go into and accountancy took my interest. I’ve always liked numbers, so it felt like it made sense. Once I finished school, I decided to enrol on a level 2 Study Programme and when that was coming to an end the team offered to help me find a job.
They helped me with practice interviews, CV and cover letter writing, and with applying for jobs. I also had the opportunity to do some work experience with the Finance team at the Growth Company and another small accounting firm which gave me the chance to put what I’d learnt on my level 2 into practise.
I then applied at Savills and got the job. It was the one I really wanted from all of the applications I’d completed so I was really happy about that. Savills gave me the chance to carry on with my level 3 and 4 AAT through an apprenticeship with the Growth Company, which I completed last June.
I didn’t like the academic life. I’ve always been more of a practical person, and I prefer to be hands on. Apprenticeships weren’t as popular when I started, most of the people I went to school with went to college and then university. My mum and dad wanted me to go down the traditional route so it was a bit of a shock for them but I’m so glad I’ve done it.
How did you find your experience studying with the Growth Company?
When I first started, I wasn’t taking it very seriously, but my tutors Jill and Sarah really helped to guide. They helped me work out what my end goal is and what I needed to do to get there and gave me life skills that really helped when I came into the workplace. When you use a good provider like the Growth Company they don’t just support you through your qualifications they help you to actually get your foot in the door.
I can’t thank the Growth Company and Jill and Sarah enough for what they’ve done for me and my career. They helped me with my exams but also my soft skills like communication, teamwork that I wouldn’t necessarily have learnt at university.
Did you face any challenges that your tutors helped you overcome?
One of the most important things for me was the face-to-face contact and being able to learn from other people in my class. We went into lockdown not long after I started my level 3 and I found it really difficult being in the same four walls every day as I’m a really social person.
We had online classrooms, and I was still learning but I just didn’t find it as engaging as in person. Jill and Sarah really helped me by arranging weekly calls to check in with me. My manager was also key in helping me during COVID and I think the communication from the Growth Company and my manager was so important. If it wasn’t for their support I don’t think I would’ve coped as well.
How did you feel when you found out you were shortlisted for Apprentice of the Year Award?
I think I was more surprised than anything. I always naturally mark myself down in my head so when Jill told me she’d nominated me I was so taken back. I still don’t think I’ve really taken in that it’s a national award, not just Manchester.
My manager helped with the nomination without me knowing. In my appraisal last year, she told me she had some questions about my experience on the apprenticeship, so I was being totally honest and then about a week later she told me it was for the nomination. I was completely oblivious, but it paid off so that’s all that matters.
How have you been getting on since you completed your level 4 apprenticeship?
My original plan was to just do my level 4 but once I completed it, I felt like I couldn’t just stop. I want to achieve the highest qualification I can so I’m now working towards my level 7 ACCA qualification to become a chartered accountant.
I’m also trying my best to share the path I took with other young people through work. I go to career fairs all over Manchester because I feel like when you speak from experience, young people listen a bit more. When I tell them I was in the same position as them and what I did and how it has worked out it shows them a different option.
