Margarita Ivanova

Margarita Ivanova has been taken by surprise at the speed at which her life has changed since she decided to apply for a full-time HND Accounting course at NESCol in 2020.

Since moving to Aberdeen from her native Bulgaria in 2015, Margarita had been working in the hospitality industry. She said, “I enjoyed my job bar tending but I wasn’t really attracted to the opportunities for progression and felt like I wanted a bit more from life. I was keen to return to education to obtain a qualification that would be recognised by employers. Having been fairly good at maths at school and being interested in business, I thought HND Accounting would be the best choice for me.”

Margarita enjoyed the two-year course despite the pandemic causing most of it to be taught online. She said, “The course covers a really good mix of subjects including IT, maths and a bit of law as well as accounting. This gives a good base on which to build knowledge in the future. Learning online was a challenge but it has given me valuable skills I can take forward into my career.”

Since completing her course in the summer, Margarita has already found a position as a Business Advisory Trainee with Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP and will begin taking her professional accountancy exams next year. She said, “If you’d have told me in 2020 that I would have completed my qualification and obtained a great job in just two years’ time, I wouldn’t have believed you but here I am! NESCol has made a huge difference for me and I would say to anyone considering retraining to just go for it – you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve and the difference it will make in a short time.” She continued, “I would highly recommend college to others who have moved to Scotland from abroad, especially if you are not sure where to start with gaining qualifications. College is a great because it gives you the option to go straight into work or continue on to further study.”