Grace from Magheravelly, Shannock, Co. Fermanagh studied year 1 and year 2 of the Accounting Technician - Computerised Accounting course at Cavan Institute.

"Prior to studying at Cavan Institute, I completed a BSc in Architecture in Queens University Belfast. However, given the lack of local work in the industry, I ended up working in a local shop for a year and then decided to head back to the books and change my direction of career to Accountancy.
Given the vast change in direction in career path I was nervous about starting again but, the staff in Cavan Institute made this very easy. Each Tutor put every ounce of passion they had for their subjects into the classes and were more than helpful with tailoring the classes to suit the students’ needs and not just focused on getting through the syllabus. With a lot of hard work and dedication I am pleased to say I completed the 2 year full time course in Cavan Institute and finished with a Distinction.
As I already had a degree, there was no help financially for me to go back to college so I started baking cakes. Through the power of Facebook, word of mouth and recommendations the little enterprise I set up was soon known near and far. It was tough to get the balance right between books and cakes sometimes, but I believe this has made me the person I am today, strong willed, determined and will put everything into the job in hand. It taught me the need and importance of being organised which is a big asset to have when in the work place.
During the 2 years at Cavan the course schedule allows for 1 day of work experience and again the tutors were ever so helpful in making sure everyone who wanted to gain experience got a job. I am delighted to say I got work experience in M O’Toole Accountants Ltd. I worked one day a week up until Christmas when they kindly offered me a full time job for when I finished my exams in May. The experience I gained from this placement was invaluable to the course; I found it really helped relate the content from the class to real world situations and also to bring a real situation into the classroom to help understand the course.
I am now a full time member of the team at M O’Toole Accountants Ltd and love every minute of it. I hope to continue my accounting journey with CPA. With the option to do this online it means I can continue working while studying. Cavan Institute was the stepping stone I needed to get into Accountancy and it has been a truly amazing experience from start to finish. I couldn’t recommend the course enough to anyone thinking of going back to college, whether that be a student fresh from school or heading back as a mature student, the tutors have an amazing ability to cater for the needs of all abilities."