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Daily NewsA businesswoman from Cardiff who runs an accounting agency with a multimillion pound turnover says she needs to “smash glass ceilings and break down barriers” for different folks under-represented within the career.
Lucy Cohen co-founded Mazuma, a subscription-based accountancy firm, together with her faculty buddy Sophie Hughes from a spare bed room after they had been 23.
Now Ms Cohen, who additionally gained a silver medal in powerlifting on the Commonwealth Games, is head of the corporate which employs 70 folks at its head workplace in Bridgend.
“I know I don’t look like a stereotypical accountant, but I’ve never tried to,” mentioned the boss who obtained into the business by way of an apprenticeship.
She obtained the thought for Mazuma from watching her household who had been actors, dancers and musicians battle with the stress of economic record-keeping and tax returns.
She joked that as a result of she got here from a artistic household, the choice to be an accountant was her youthful “rebellion”.
But she has continued that rebellious streak in calling out the absence of ladies in senior roles in accountancy.
“When I walk into a room and there aren’t any women there, I ask the question – where are the women?” she mentioned.
She believes apprenticeships might help enhance range as a result of the “earn while you learn” mannequin can provide an accessible route into careers for individuals who wouldn’t take into account going to school.
Mabli Cunnah-McMillan, from Colwyn Bay in Conwy county, has simply completed her apprenticeship at Mazuma and been appointed to a everlasting position.
Unlike most of her pals, the 18-year-old by no means wished to go to school and she or he thinks everybody ought to take into account apprenticeships.
“You can work and learn at the same time, it’s not like uni where you’re just studying all the time and you have lots of debt and stuff,” she mentioned.
She was at all times eager to get into accountancy and she or he thinks working within the area that you’re learning may give you an additional edge.
“I can ask my colleagues if they can help me with stuff, so they can give me guidance if I get stuck,” she said.
Ms Cohen believes encouraging social mobility and diversity benefits individual businesses and the wider profession.
“Those diverse voices, those experiences from different cultural and economic backgrounds make for a really rich profession,” she mentioned.
She thinks it might just change the image of the profession too.
“Let’s be honest, nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks accounting is a sexy career,” she said.
“But that’s changing because numbers, money, finance underpin everything in our society and when you access that and understand it, your ability to navigate the world is enhanced so much.”
The Welsh authorities supplies funding for apprenticeship locations in Wales, however has admitted it is not going to meet its manifesto dedication to create 125,000 apprentices by 2026 due to funding cuts.
