What Really Stops People Retraining in Accounting?
7 minute read. Every person here is one of our own students. Each section links to their full story in their own words.
Almost nobody decides against retraining because they looked into accounting and did not fancy it. They stop earlier than that, at a reason. Too old. Too busy. Nowhere near a college. Five of our students hit one of those reasons and went anyway. Here is what each of them was actually up against.
Key takeaways
- Neither AAT nor ICB sets an upper age limit, and entry-level courses ask only for basic numeracy and good English.
- Celia returned to an exam room after roughly 25 years away from one.
- William tried a free course sample before committing to anything.
- Shama studied around caring for her parents and raising twins, and her employer offered to fund it.
- Alex studied from rural Ireland, where no local college was an option.
Find the one that sounds like you
What actually stops people retraining?
Rarely the qualification itself. Neither AAT nor ICB sets an upper age limit, and entry-level courses ask only for basic numeracy and a good standard of English. What stops people is a reason they have already accepted before they get that far.
The five people below each had one. None of the reasons were imaginary. Time, distance, confidence and a working life already spent somewhere else are all real things.
They just turned out to be smaller than they looked from the outside.
Have you been in the same career for decades?
Celia spent thirty years as a registered nurse, running a complementary medicine practice alongside it. She stepped back from nursing because of the pressures in the NHS, then started keeping the books for her husband’s procurement consultancy. Invoicing, VAT returns, Companies House. All self-taught.
The business paid for an introductory bookkeeping course with us. Then her husband retired, the business closed, and she never started it.
Years later, after relocating to North Devon and building a small admin and PA business, she came back to it. In her own words, she enrolled as a very mature student. Her ICB Level 3 exam was her first at an external exam centre in around 25 years.
Her own reasoning is the part worth borrowing. She described herself as part of a generation with several extra working years ahead of them. Retraining was not a last throw of the dice. It was arithmetic.
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What if you like your job but still want a change?
This one gets less airtime than it should. William was a teacher during the pandemic, in a role he says he had cherished for years. Nothing was wrong with it. He had simply started to want a new challenge.
What he did next is the useful bit. Rather than leaping, he tested it. He worked through personality assessments to understand what suited him, then took a free sample of our bookkeeping course. He calls that sample a pivotal moment in his career.
What drew him in was the methodical approach to problem solving, which matched how he already thought. He went on to study AAT Levels 2, 3 and 4. His first finance role came at a private school in Suffolk, straight after Level 2. He now works at a local accountancy firm handling VAT and Construction Industry Scheme returns.
You do not have to be unhappy to want something different. And you can find out whether it suits you before you commit a penny.
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Is there ever a good time to start?
Shama was 41 and had spent 14 years as a nuclear medicine technologist in the NHS. When her parents’ health declined, full-time work outside the house stopped being possible. She left healthcare and became a full-time carer, with eight-year-old twins at home as well.
She describes realising she needed something for herself. Something with a purpose that still fitted around her family. Looking for remote work, she noticed how much of it was in accounting.
She studied AAT around caring, and found the thing she needed was old-fashioned. Printed materials she could highlight, and a tutor who marked her mock exams overnight. Her employer then offered to fund her studies without being asked, which she describes as a nice surprise.
Her advice to anyone hesitating is the clearest line in any of these stories. Do not wait for the perfect time, because life is never going to be calm or convenient.
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What if you have the experience but not the qualification?
Emma had 25 years behind her in finance and business, across insolvency and small business consultancy. She had also built an award-winning chimney sweeping company from nothing.
So her problem was not knowledge. It was that she wanted to start her own accounting practice, and for that the experience needed formalising into a qualification. That meant going back to studying after decades away from it, which is its own hurdle.
She completed ICB Level 2, Level 3 and Self-Assessment Tax Returns in just over twelve months. She says the support, materials and flexibility made the transition back into study smooth and enjoyable. She now runs Barleyfields Accountancy.
Years of doing the work is not the same as being able to prove it. The qualification is what turns one into the other.
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What if there is no college near you?
Alex studied textile design and spent about ten years as an illustrator and artist, taking part-time admin work to support it. She had noticed that the admin job she enjoyed most involved basic bookkeeping, because it suited the logical side of her brain. Numbers either add up or they do not, which was a relief after a world where everything is subjective.
Then the pandemic moved her and her partner from London to rural Ireland. Illustration work dried up, and admin jobs were hard to find somewhere that isolated. She says her confidence took a real knock.
Studying locally was not an option, so she needed a course she could do remotely. She completed AAT Level 2 Bookkeeping online, driving more than three hours to each exam, and landed a job as a finance assistant.
She still illustrates. It is just for enjoyment now rather than for the rent.
What all five had in common
Not much, on the face of it. A nurse, a teacher, an NHS technologist, a business owner and an illustrator.
Every one of them studied by distance learning, and in each case for a different reason. Celia for the flexibility. William to fit study around existing commitments. Shama because she was caring at home, Emma because she was already running a business, and Alex because there was nothing within reach.
Not one of them started with an accounting qualification. Two had no finance background at all.
And the thing each of them brought from before turned out to matter. Emma had spent 25 years being the small business she now advises. William had spent his career explaining difficult things to people who did not understand them yet. Alex already knew she preferred problems with a right answer.
The career you have already had is not the thing holding you back. It is usually the thing that makes you good at the next one.
Frequently asked questions
No. Neither AAT nor ICB sets an upper age limit on any of their qualifications. Our students include people retraining in their forties, fifties and beyond. One describes herself as having enrolled as a very mature student, and returned to an exam room after around 25 years away. What matters is the time you can commit, not the year you were born.
Not usually. Entry-level AAT and ICB courses ask only for basic numerical skills and a good standard of English. You do not need GCSEs, A levels or a degree, and you do not need any previous accounting or bookkeeping study. If you are unsure which level suits you, our course advisors can talk it through.
It depends on the level and how much time you have each week. Individual qualifications are usually measured in months rather than years. Emma completed ICB Levels 2 and 3 plus Self-Assessment Tax Returns in just over twelve months while running a business. Course extensions are available if life gets in the way partway through.
Yes, and most of our students do. Distance learning means no fixed timetable and no travel. Shama studied while caring for her parents and raising twins. Alex studied from rural Ireland, where attending a college was not possible. Celia took breaks for family matters and was granted an extension.
The qualification is what gets you considered, because employers cannot verify accounting knowledge from a CV alone. Beyond that, a previous career is usually an advantage. Emma spent 25 years running businesses before advising them. William spent his career explaining difficult things clearly. Both say that background helps.
