A MAN from Clacton has praised an adult education course in accounting after it helped to completely transform his life and kickstart his career.

Jack Parsons said for a large part of his twenties, while doing bar and restaurant work, that he didn’t really know what he wanted to do.

Jack was then out of work and with “not much to do” when he joined an Adult Community Learning (ACL) course.

He added: “When I started on ACL I was on benefits at the time, a lot of my problems were being motivated, being disciplined, having my head on properly.”

While already looking for jobs and potential educational courses, Jack’s dad told him that he would be good at accounting, and so in 2019, Jack started his first accounting course with ACL Essex.

Jack sid one of his main obstacles is his social anxiety, meaning having the opportunity to engage with others in a fixed social setting, really helped him push himself forward.

“It’s not all about the studying” Jack said, referring to the friends from his level three course that he still meets up with every few months for a curry.

Jack revealed how he originally had started some “self-taught” book-keeping courses before ACL but that the taught course helped with its set goals and monitored progress.

He added: “The best decision I have made bar none, is starting the ACL course.”

By spring 2022, Jack had completed both his level 2 and 3 courses and said: “In terms of the rest of your working life, it’s a blip”.

Jack is now studying for his level 4 qualification which is online as he now works for Red Rock Estate and Property Management.

At the time of his interview Jack already had a level 2 qualification under his belt and said, though ACL did not directly help him get the job, “you cannot underestimate” how valuable having ACL was on his CV to employers.

Jack also started going to the gym and being more healthy and said: “ACL was the kindling to engage with other life and to have choices”.

“Building my inner strength and mental strength. That’s the biggest thing."