A CO Tyrone woman has scored top marks on the island of Ireland in national accountancy exams - despite taking them on the other side of the world.
And Australia-based Emma Harpur, who pursued an apprenticeship after stellar A-level results, is also topping the charts Down Under, twice placing first in exams as part of her quest to become a fully qualified accountant.
The 23-year-old from Castlederg, now living in Melbourne, opted for the Accounting Technicians Ireland (ATI) Higher Level Apprenticeship after a hat-trick of A grade A-levels at Castlederg High School, despite being accepted to Queen's University in Belfast to study for an actuarial sciences and risk management degree.
After a year of her apprenticeship with Claremount Chartered Accountants in Omagh, through the local South West College, she headed for Australia.
“In November 2018, I took a break to travel to Australia for six months. My plan was to return home and continue studying,” said Emma.
“But before I knew it, I had been in Australia for a year and began researching how I could complete my ATI Diploma. I signed up to study online, watched pre-recorded lectures and sat exams last year through a digital platform.
“I absolutely loved the course and enjoyed studying. This shone through when I received my results. Being told I had placed first certainly inspired me to further study accounting and take my knowledge to the next level.”
Emma is now studying to become a fully qualified accountant through the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), using exemptions gained from her ATI Diploma, twice placing first in Australia in ACCA exams.
She is also working on a Bachelor of Accounting and Finance Degree through Oxford Brookes University whilst working with prestigious firm Pitcher Partners in Melbourne.
The ATI Higher-Level Apprenticeship in accountancy, which allows students to work, earn and learn, is to create 120 jobs in Northern Ireland this September.
The two-year funded, work-based learning programme (details at www.accountingtechniciansireland.ie) sees locally placed apprentices earn at least the national minimum wage and above.
Applications are now open for the programme, which is delivered through regional colleges in the north and which, since its foundation in 2014, has been the source of more than 600 jobs in Northern Ireland.
