Former North Kent College Accounting student Samuel Hall turned his college placement into a full-time career with Avenues Trust Group.
Sam began his T Level in Accounting in 2023, completing the two-year course in 2025. As part of his studies, he completed a one-day-a-week industry placement at Avenues Trust Group, rotating through several departments to explore different areas of accounting and discover where his strengths and interests lay.
He first connected with Avenues when Nicola Ford, a Chartered Accountant at the company, visited the Dartford campus to speak to the accounting students about careers in the industry. After the talk, Trisha Rose, T Level Industry Placement Coordinator, spoke with Nicola about Sam’s situation which led to his placement and future career.
Nicola, who became the youngest Chartered Accountant, praised Sam’s professionalism and attitude:
“Sam was our first ever placement student, and it worked a dream. He follows instructions, asks questions, and shows a real willingness to learn. The staff at North Kent, especially Trisha, were fantastic in supporting him throughout the process.”
After making over 70 calls in search of a placement, Sam’s determination paid off. His enthusiasm and reliability impressed the Avenues team so much that they offered him a full-time position and now he plans to progress onto AAT Level 3 and Level 4, with aspirations to one day become an auditor.
Offering advice to current or future students Sam said, “Start looking for your placement early, it helps you build the fundamentals. And always review and revise everything for your exams using all the resources you’re given.”
Reflecting on the experience, Nicola said the placement was a huge success and encouraged other employers to consider student placements, saying “Employers can be nervous about placements because they require time and investment, but they are rewarding. In our case, a fantastic new employee. We took Sam on quite late in his second year, which made scheduling tough, but now that we understand the process, we’ll look to take on more students in the future.
For more information about studying Business and Finance at North Kent College, visit the Business and Finance section on the College website.