Motivation | Distance learner
Why the long haul reaps benefits
Nathan Healey-Bennett passed AAT Level 4 while working a full-time job in the haulage industry. Here, he explains how he progressed from working as a temp in the transport office to becoming an accounts supervisor with his own team
Words Marianne Curphey
AT A GLANCE
1
Work and learn
Distance learning enables you to work and study so you can apply your knowledge on the job.
2
Around your life
Studying via distance learning is flexible but takes a lot of commitment.
3
At your own pace
A key route to success is to manage your time carefully, making sure you build in breaks, rest periods and time to do the leisure activities you enjoy.
Like many young people, Nathan Healey-Bennett MAAT did not have a clear idea about what career path he wanted to pursue after leaving school. Having completed one year of A-Levels, he left school to try out an apprenticeship to become a chef, but soon realised he didn’t really enjoy it.
Instead, he took a temporary job with a haulage and warehousing company. It was close to Christmas and the firm needed extra help in the transport office. After a few months, he transferred to the accounts office, where he began to take an interest in the way the business was run.
That inspired him to begin his accountancy journey and he chose to study for AAT via distance learning with Training Link. He has self-funded his qualifications up to and including AAT Level 4, which he passed in November 2024.
“I didn’t really enjoy school, but with my AAT studies I found I really loved the coursework and I got on with it,” he says. “It has been hard to work a full day and then study in the evening, but I am so pleased to have done it.”
Healey-Bennett is now accounts supervisor at Edwards Transport (Shropshire) Limited in Hinstock, running a small team in a busy office.
Edwards Transport is a large operation, turning over more than £17m per annum, running and managing 60 lorries and 100 refrigerated trailers over two sites. Healey-Bennett joined five years ago and has been combining work and study towards AAT.
“When I started off, I was working on the sales and haulage side of the business,” he recalls. “That involved using software for the transport systems to raise our sales invoices. I enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of the job because it is a complex industry. For example, you need to get proof of delivery to raise an invoice. There are many reasons why you might not have a proof of delivery and there are lots of challenges that come with that aspect of the business. After that, I moved to the purchase side of accounts and then to management accounts."
Advantages of distance learning
“I really enjoyed my AAT studies,” he says. “Training Link were brilliant and the tutors were so knowledgeable and supportive. I was never very good at classroom learning at school, but the AAT format allowed me to work steadily at my own pace towards a goal that I had set myself.”
Although it was hard to settle down after a full day’s work, Healey-Bennett always spent an hour and a half on his AAT studies every night, as well as a couple of hours on Saturdays.
“I made sure I kept Sunday free to do the things that I enjoyed doing in other aspects of my life,” he says. “I think you need a particular mindset to be able to do distance learning around full-time work and you need a schedule.
“Once I had done one exam, I would book in a date for the next one and work towards that. It is important not to be too hard on yourself. At one point when I was working towards Level 4, I had a bit of a breakdown with the stress of trying so hard because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. There was a particular topic that I was struggling at, but I spoke to my tutor at Training Link and he told me to take a step back. I gave myself a week off and then went back to it and things were better.”
“I was never very good at classroom learning at school, but the AAT format allowed me to work steadily at my own pace towards a goal that I had set myself.”
Industry experience benefits
Healey-Bennett had thought about going into practice once he had qualified at Level 4, but the variety of working in industry means he is happy to stay with his current employer, working with the purchasing team and preparing management accounts.
“We’re a small team, so I have my hands in a lot of different roles,” he says. “For example, I might help out with payroll pay runs. We have 60 trucks on the road and there are accidents now and then, so I deal with the insurance claims as well.”
Healey-Bennett says his job requires him to be able to communicate with every department and all the directors of the company, in order to get hold of the information needed to put the management accounts together.
“A lot of the departments think that once their job is done, that’s it, but I have to explain to them that the job’s not done until you’ve got the money,” he says. “All the departments have to work together to put all the pieces of the puzzle together so you get that end goal. When you work in accounts, you see the whole picture, whereas those other departments don’t have that overview and don’t always understand how you need to put the different bits of information into a coherent form that can be communicated across the company.”
Tips for current students
Healey-Bennett says it is important to realise that the combination of work and study can be demanding and takes a lot of commitment.
“Although it gets harder as you move up the levels, just know that with commitment and hard work you’ll succeed at it,” he says. “Having my AAT qualifications gives me the skills to do my job and it has also given me great opportunities to further my career.”
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