Charlotte Smalley

Charlotte Smalley always knew she wanted a career within the Financial industry and so chose to study A Levels in Maths, Accounting and Sociology while at Havering Sixth Form from 2015 to 2017.

She went on to work as an Audit Associate on an EY (Ernst & Young) Apprenticeship.

A former Emerson Park School student, Charlotte made an early decision while at College that she probably would not go to University as she preferred ‘on the job learning’ and so set about applying for Business-type apprenticeships.

She visited the College’s CUBE (Careers, University, Business and Employment) for advice and was encouraged to apply for the EY Apprenticeship, based in Canary Wharf.

It was a tough selection process – first the online application, then a difficult two-stage strengths assessment, including numerical and verbal tests; next a telephone interview; then she moved on to a written assessment and team exercise at an EY office and then finally a face-to-face interview with a partner.

She was overjoyed when she found out she had been offered a place on the scheme.

Charlotte said: “An Apprenticeship at EY seemed the best option for me as I prefer on the job learning and earning money at the same time, rather than studying full-time. I have passed all my exams so far and I look forward to achieving the ACA qualification.

“I am thoroughly enjoying my job and would definitely recommend the Apprenticeship route to others.”