“I joined Deloitte in September 2011 and haven’t looked back since. After my A-levels, I knew that a profession in finance was what I wanted. Compared to my peers that chose to go to university I really feel like I’ve had a head start in my career.

Not treated any differently to the graduates in my intake, I have been given opportunities to develop skills and challenge myself from day one. After one year I have been trusted to ‘field senior’ with some audits for my local office. Not only has this improved my technical ability and helped towards obtaining the ACA qualification; my communication skills, analytical skills and my confidence have improved significantly and I don’t believe this would be the case had I gone to university.

I joined the audit department believing that my five-year career would be entirely audit-based, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. In just two years I have worked within personal tax, been involved with the local recruitment of future BrightStarts, been elected Chairperson of the ICAEW student society for South and East Wales and had involvement in organising office-wide social events.

Although I was apprehensive at first due to having no University education, working at Deloitte soon made me realise that I made the right decision. There is genuine support and ample opportunities for everyone here and Deloitte’s investment in its staff really is second to none; I’m confident that even after two years the skills I’ve developed and the opportunities that I’ve been given so far will set me up for a successful career.”

Vaughan Regan, BrightStart student, Audit