Bethany Coleman’s journey from apprentice to group accountant at Croxdale Group Durham showcases an inspiring career progression with the company she joined as a teenager.
Bethany, began her career as an accounts apprentice at Croxdale Group Durham, a major car dealership, and after sales service centre. Now at 25, she has earned her fifth promotion within the company.
The 25-year-old, who is now group accountant, completed her apprenticeship and Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualifications while working for the firm, studying levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the AAT courses at New College Durham, as she worked her way up.
Bethany went to work in a few different offices before the apprenticeship at Croxdale came up – but says she never felt at home anywhere until she had her interview at Croxdale, which she describes as being “like family”.
“When I came here for my interview it felt very friendly and like family – I was just very comfortable from the start,” she says.
“It’s way more relaxed than other places where I worked, and you get to communicate with everyone involved in every different department.
“You are not just sitting at a computer doing accounts all day, you are encouraged to mix with the rest of the team doing all different kinds of jobs.”
Bethany finished her apprenticeship with Croxdale in 2021 and has held various roles since joining in 2017.
As accounts apprentice, she was responsible for data processing of purchase invoices, inputting and providing receipts for customer deposits and reconciling and posting daily takings.
As accounts assistant, she would post and reconcile bank statements, provide accurate costing of purchases and provide a weekly debtors report to management.
As assistant accountant, more responsibilities were added to her role, including assisting in preparation of management accounts and overseeing accounts and the admin team, as well as assisting in VAT audits and forecasting cashflow to support strategic decisions.
As accountant, she is involved in preparing management accounts, preparing financial budgets, managing and mentoring the full accounts team and liaising with senior management regarding management accounts.
Speaking of her promotion, Bethany says: “I’m really pleased to have been made group accountant, thanks to the support and mentoring of the managing director Anthony Rockingham and Vicki Halse, group chief financial officer.
“I enjoy the fast-changing environment you experience working in the motor trade, which makes it interesting, where we always have a new model coming in or an update to an existing model.
“Recently, we’ve had a lot of new brands coming into the dealership which has been good to see, such as Leapmotor, Jeep and Alfa Romeo, and everyone enjoys seeing how the business is expanding.”
Anthony Rockingham, managing director of Croxdale Group Durham, says: “It has been really pleasing to see Bethany grow from an apprentice to where she is now as group accountant and I’m looking forward to seeing her continue to grow in her new role.
“Bethany has taken all the advice and tasks we have given her over the years and has proven herself to be a valuable member of our team in the way she has responded.
“She is one of many apprentices we have here at Croxdale who are performing extremely well and as a business we are committed to investing in apprentices from the local area in the years to come.”
Apprenticeships play a crucial role in addressing the UK’s current skills shortages, particularly in sectors like the automotive industry and accountancy.
Bethany’s promotion comes at a time when apprenticeships are more crucial than ever in the motor industry.
The automotive sector is experiencing its most significant skills shortage in over two decades, with more than 23,000 vacancies – accounting for approximately 4% of the workforce, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
With 73% of companies now turning to apprenticeships to address this gap, Croxdale Group is proud to invest in developing young talent across its business.
By investing in apprenticeship programs, companies like Croxdale Group, which has many apprentices across different roles and responsibilities, not only address these critical skills shortages but also offer individuals valuable career development opportunities.