By way of introduction name is Joshua Edwards and I am a second year Business Trainee at EY, based in London and working in the firm’s Transaction Advisory Services service line, or TAS for short.

Like most 18 year olds after A-levels I presumed that in order to work for a firm such as EY I would have to go to university, achieve a 1st / 2:1 in my degree and then join as a graduate…how wrong could I have been.

During my gap year I came across the School Leavers Programme through a friend who suggested that alongside my UCAS application I should look into joining EY. With a degree of scepticism I took to his advice and attended an Insight evening; after all what did I have to lose?

To cut a long story short from the moment I stepped into the London office I was completely overwhelmed by the opportunity that was on offer and after meeting Partners and employees (who all started as School leavers) from across the firm felt compelled to apply.

Against the advice of some people both connected to and outside my education, I joined EY on 1st October 2012.

15 months in, nearly all of those ‘advisors’ now agree with my decision to pursue this path. Working in Corporate Finance as a trainee has exposed me to the one of the largest Administrations the accounting profession has ever encountered, an incredible network of friends / colleagues and a learning experience in the ‘commercials of business’ like no other.

To add some context, I spent my first twelve months working in a motivated team, looking to close down a multi-billion dollar global business which became insolvent in 2009 and consequently filed for Administration. Our role in the Administrators’ team was to return much money as possible to those whom it was owed.

Yes the work is challenging and sometimes the hours are long but fear not there is a social side to this arrangement. I have played rugby, dodgeball and even learnt to dance since being at EY which has added another dimension to the programme.

Whilst the leap into full time employment at first appeared daunting, I was paired up with a buddy and allocated a counsellor to support my development. Combine these two people with the team that I was working in and other school leavers who joined at the same time as me and that leap became more of a step, which personally I was ready to take.

This opportunity is not for everyone, it is a decision which you must make depending on where your strengths and centred and the career you wish to pursue. However, if you are motivated, eager to learn, pay attention to detail and want to gain a fundamental understanding of how business and finance works then I suggest you to attend an Insight evening.

After all what do you have to lose?