Meet our people
Shavinder Kalcut - Trainee Accountant
Shavinder Kalcut - Trainee Accountant
"I started with the Institute straight after university, because a role that seemed made for me pretty much fell in my lap. I’m from a physics background - I did a Masters at Lancaster and when I finished, I heard that a student liaison officer role was available at the Institute. I already subscribed to their publications, it was in my area of study and the role itself sounded really interesting, so I applied straight away.
As things turned out, the job and the atmosphere at the Institute, suited me down to a tee, because everyone was so friendly, the prospects were great and I could keep in touch with the world of physics whilst learning new transferable skills. Day-to-day, the job itself was perfect for me at that stage in my life - I spent my time travelling around the country speaking to physics students and encouraging them to join the Institute. I even edited a magazine and organised events: brilliant for gaining new skills but though I enjoyed it and learned a lot, I decided it was time to take my studies further, so left to complete a Masters degree in optics and photonics at Imperial College, London.
But that’s certainly not the end of the story. Some time later, I decided I wanted to move into accountancy as a career. When I saw an advert for a trainee accountant at the Institute I applied immediately. The benefits of working here and all the friends I had made, meant it would be a much friendlier place to begin my new career than starting from scratch. So far, it’s been brilliant. The atmosphere hasn’t changed a bit - everyone’s friendly and supportive and the training and development is great. I’ve never had a request for work-related training turned down by my line manager and over the course of three years, I have been on seven separate training courses. I’m also taking evening classes and revision courses for my ACCA qualification exams, which - thanks to the Institute - I’ll take over the next couple of years."
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