A pair of undergraduates are set to take up permanent roles at Chesterfield’s Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, following a successful placement year working with the firm.

Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers have long been an Apprenticeship Ambassador, helping to promote Chesterfield as an Apprentice Town and raising awareness of apprenticeships and their benefits to strengthen the workforce of the local economy.

Some years ago, Mitchells put in place various strategies to ensure the development of a staff pipeline. Bringing in talented and dedicated people through apprenticeships and yearlong undergraduate placements is a vital element to their sustainable model for the future.

From the moment their training begins, everyone is assigned a mentor who monitors and supports their professional and personal development. They offer a comprehensive, fully supervised, structured training programme which is supported and closely monitored by a leading firm of external tutors. Training consists of a combination of courses at the tutors’ offices, private study and regular tests, as well as on-the-job training. Paid study leave is granted and course and examination fees are paid.

Alongside this, they have the support of Mitchells’ partners and senior staff, all ready and willing to offer guidance and advice at every stage of their journey towards becoming a Chartered Accountant or Chartered Tax Adviser. The openness and friendly nature of all the staff makes it easy to speak up and ask for assistance whenever needed.

Melissa Grafton (pictured right) and Hannah Longton (pictured below) are undergraduates in Accounting and Finance. Melissa studying at University of Lincoln and Hannah studying at Sheffield Hallam University. They have both just completed their year’s placement at Mitchells.  This is what they had to say about their experience:

“Applying for a placement is a very daunting thought, after being in full time education for the past 20 years, the idea of writing up a CV and applying felt very overwhelming but this couldn’t have been put more at ease when we applied to Mitchells. The application process at Mitchells gave us both a great idea of what it would be like to work here with having an interview with both our line manager and a partner at the firm. This showed us how hands on our superiors are with new workers and what our work environment would be like.

“From the moment we started working at Mitchells we were given the space and jobs to help us develop as people both academically and personally. Some of the many personal skills we have developed include confidence, communication, and time management. Working in a corporate environment has greatly improved our time management skills as we have had to ensure we complete jobs on time in order of importance. We both believe our confidence and communication have developed hand in hand as Mitchells have always provided an environment to ask for help off colleagues and superiors to ensure that we are learning and developing on each job and never struggling.

“From spending the year at Mitchells, we can see exactly how transferrable the skills we have gained are to our final year at University. At University it can sometimes be hard to comprehend how theory is used in practise, but from working in different sectors and different clients. We have expanded our commercial awareness and our ability to retain and relate our knowledge. We have both felt our Excel skills have been greatly enhanced from being able to work on special and innovative projects within Mitchells.

“We have not only gained in skills and experience but have also gained an inclusive social work team. Every month our colleagues have made effort to include us and feel welcomed into the workspace by having monthly events such as escape rooms, and meals out. This has helped settle and ease our worries of joining the world of full-time employment. It has also helped us develop good working relationships.

“We couldn’t recommend completing a placement year at Mitchells enough, we have even had the lucky offer of being invited back. Which we have gladly accepted as we know that the Mitchells working environment will give us all the support as we study and work towards our ACA qualification to become a Chartered Accountant.”

Andrew McDaid, Partner at Mitchells said: “Throughout the year that both Melissa and Hannah have spent with us, they have consistently exceeded all expectations. The whole team at Mitchells wishes them all the best in the final year of their degrees and look forward to welcoming them back in 2023 as permanent colleagues.”

Dan Plumley, Principal Lecturer and Recruitment Lead for the department of Finance, Accounting and Business Systems at Sheffield Hallam University commented “Mitchells provide an excellent placement scheme for Sheffield Hallam Students and the fact that they then go on to secure full time work with Mitchells after they graduate is testament to the impression they make whilst on placement. This is exactly what placement years are all about for both the students and the employers as it gives them a chance of guaranteeing employment before they have even finished studying with us. We are delighted to work with Mitchells to offer students such great opportunities and experience and are always on the lookout for other local employers that would like to do the same.”

Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.