The theme of this year's National Apprenticeship Week (3-9 February 2020) is 'Look Beyond'.

Employers are being encouraged to look beyond traditional hiring routes to apprenticeship schemes that can unlock fantastic long-term career options. It is hoped that parents and young people will also see past common misconceptions about apprentices and instead see them as the business leaders of the future.

Mimi Beard, 21 from Falmouth, Cornwall, works full-time in the Truro office of chartered accountants and business advisers, PKF Francis Clark. She attends a local college one day a week, as part of her apprenticeship.

Mimi had to overcome huge adversity to get into her chosen career of accountancy.

"My upbringing was turbulent," Mimi explains. "My dad left when I was four months old, and I was responsible for caring for my mum who had major mental and physical health problems. My twin was fostered when we were 15 and conversely I found myself homeless before I began my GCSEs."

At just 16, Mimi ended up in the Penzance branch of the YMCA, where she completed secondary school. Despite the challenges she had faced, Mimi's dedication to her education resulted in a fantastic set of GCSE results that enabled her to continue her studies further, taking on business and politics A-Levels at college.

Mimi really began to see the results of her hard work and determination when she secured a role with tech company Hi9, where her interest in finance began to grow. She then applied for KPMG's work experience programme and was thrilled when she discovered that she had been successful.

Her enthusiasm and experience at KPMG, along with good grades in both her A-Levels and AAT Level 1 exam, secured Mimi a place on PKF Francis Clark's apprenticeship programme shortly after completing college.

Mimi has now been at PKF Francis Clark for over a year and loves the challenges that work provides.

"Every day is different," Mimi explains, "and therefore work never feels repetitive. My employer offers a well-rounded approach to accountancy and they show me the different paths I could go with my career."

Mimi takes a very active role at PKF Francis Clark, continually learning new skills and building her experience and in 2019, she won the title of 'Accountancy Apprentice of the Year' at the Cornwall Apprenticeship Awards.

Mimi's commitments also go above and beyond the office. Outside of her work and studies, she finds the time to support socially disadvantaged young adults. She regularly provides talks to employers about the importance of offering opportunities to the socially disadvantaged through education and employment. She also became an ambassador for a homelessness charity in 2019.

"AAT has helped me to understand the core concepts of accountancy, and so has helped me progress at work," Mimi adds.

"I want to continue to complete my Level 4 and become a professional accountant with full AAT membership."