Age is no barrier when it comes to online learning
AGE has proved no barrier to learning for Terry Ramm. The 63-year- old was one of the oldest students at a specialist UK- wide e- learning college, which provides tuition for bookkeeping and accounting exams through distance learning.
He joined 2,000 other students — many of them several decades younger than him — at online Ideal Schools ( idealschools. co. uk) in October 2015, to study for the qualifications necessary for him to launch a second career.
The former company director passed Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) levels two, three, and four — all with distinction — and completed the self-assessment module.
He has now set up his own practice in Lincoln — TLR Bookkeeping & Taxation — and already has an impressive portfolio of clients.
Terry says: ‘ I wasn’t ready to retire and I didn’t fancy stacking shelves at the supermarket, so setting up my own business was the way forward for me. I gained an Institute of Certified Bookkeepers qualification and that opened all the right doors.’
The businessman, who has spent the past 17 years in Canada before returning to Britain, realised he wanted an intellectual challenge, and was familiar with the world of bookkeeping from his former career.
He says: ‘Business is all about confidence, and the course I signed up for gave me all the tools I needed to open my new practice ahead of schedule.
‘I hope to provide companies, organisations and individuals in Lincoln with an outstanding service.’
Brian McVean, director of Ideal Schools, says: ‘ Terry was a committed and enthusiastic student, who clearly had a wealth of business experience.
‘It goes to show that age is no barrier for people if they have the determination and self-belief to start out on a new stage in their professional lives.’
Meanwhile, mother- of- one Nicky Hagenbeek, 42, has also set up her own successful business in Cherhill, near Calne, Wiltshire, after studying with Ideal Schools.
She began preparing for the bookkeeping exams in 2014 and passed ICB levels two, three and four, and then completed the selfassessment module, all with grades higher than 96 per cent. Nicky launched Beeline Bookkeeping in 2015 and quickly built up an impressive portfolio of clients. She says: ‘ I’d really recommend this as a way of learning.
‘Ideal Schools was supportive and very responsive to my needs. It has created a network of encouraging students and former students available via social media, which is very helpful when starting out.
‘It gave me huge confidence to start my own business.’
For further information telephone 0141 248 5200 or email admin@ idealschools.co.uk.