Arman Khan walked into our Glasgow centre at seventeen and completed his AAT qualification while still at school. Most teenagers are focused on A levels, friends, weekend plans, or what to watch on Netflix. He was thinking about his career.

‘I wanted to develop my skills before everyone else,’ he told us. Not to catch up but to get ahead.

We all have our schedules, our obligations, and our lives seemingly sorted, so stepping outside that comfort zone is no small task. Add in the fear of failure, and many adults second-guess enrolling in training.

Whilst others might procrastinate and debate, he acted while balancing the demands of schoolwork and teenage life. He went on to complete his qualification, recognising the need to stand out in one of the UK’s most competitive industries.

To learn more, we sat down with him to talk openly about the challenges he faced and the helpful, sometimes surprisingly simple, solutions that helped him along the way.

I Don’t Want to Look Foolish

‘Will I embarrass myself? What will the other students think? Am I too old to take these courses?’ These questions come up regularly when people consider enrolling in training or pursuing professional development.

These concerns make sense. Learning new skills often involves rearranging your schedule, planning for additional expenses, or stepping out of your comfort zone. ‘I’m too busy, now’s not a good time.’ ‘Taking a class is expensive.’ ‘I’m intimidated.’ Balancing a day job with family, social life, and other responsibilities takes planning. Cost is a genuine consideration for many. Venturing outside your comfort zone can feel uncomfortable.

But taking a course can be the step toward that promotion you’ve been aiming for or lay the foundation for a complete career change. The potential benefits often outweigh the initial hesitation.

Arman approached these same challenges differently. He focused on what he wanted, not what might go wrong. ‘There’s a lot of competition in the financial industry, and it’s very hard to get jobs. So, I wanted to start early; that way, I have something unique about my skillset that no one else has.’

While he’d never studied accounting before, that didn’t deter him. Numbers had always come naturally, and he was ready to take the leap. Where many people might spend months researching options or weighing up risks, he moved into action.

‘I wasn’t really scared, I was curious. I’d never taken accounting classes before, so I didn’t really know what it was going to be like. I just wanted to learn more about them.’

His experience shows that the biggest barrier to training often isn’t age, background, or qualifications. It’s getting out of your own way and embracing something new.

The Reality

Balancing training with managing school wasn’t always easy. ‘At times, it was difficult to balance school, life, and training all at the same time.’

His parents helped him stay consistent. Our centre staff, including Caroline, the Centre Director, Lynn, the Senior Learning Coach, and Paige, the Learning Coach, all supported him when concepts proved challenging, and Arman made clever use of technology, turning artificial intelligence into his personal tutor.

This wasn’t just a matter of quick internet searches. Arman used AI to simplify complex definitions, work through problems step by step, and get explanations that made sense to him. When he got stuck on accounting concepts, he’d ask for different ways to understand the same idea until something clicked.

‘When I was stuck on a question, I would use it to give me advice on how to do better next time and tell me what I got wrong. ChatGPT would show me how the concept worked and how to understand it for the next time.’

Arman discovered that many learners are finding that these tools can work as on-demand study partners. They don’t replace teachers or proper training programmes, but they fill gaps. Answering questions at midnight, explaining things differently when the first explanation doesn’t work, and giving learners confidence to tackle more complex concepts.

For someone juggling school and professional qualifications, having that extra layer of support made the difference. Making it possible to study at all times, get help as needed, and keep moving forward after-hours when the centre was closed for the day.

It’s the same kind of adaptive learning that’s proving useful for working professionals taking evening courses, parents studying around family schedules, or anyone trying to fit training into a busy life.

Unexpected Benefits

His studies taught him more than accounting principles. ‘I learned a lot more about paying attention to details. This is so very important, especially in this field – you must pay attention to the details and the numbers because even the smallest mistake can mess up your work.’

He was also surprised by how approachable it all felt. The modules built on each other logically, nothing felt overwhelming, and he could see his progress.

Then came exam day. ‘I was shaking walking out,’ he recalls. ‘I was surprised five minutes later that I passed!’

He wishes he’d prepared a bit more, but that moment of success made everything worthwhile.

Looking ahead, he knows his qualification will ‘give me a good competitive edge when I apply for jobs, degree apprenticeships and uni – something to make me stand out on my CV.’

At seventeen, Arman represents something we see across all our centres: people who refuse to accept limitations. Whether they’re teenagers like Arman getting ahead of the competition, professionals in their thirties seeking career advancement, parents returning to work after raising families, or individuals in their fifties exploring new industries, our students share common traits – determination, focus, and the courage to invest in themselves.

Each week, our centres celebrate graduates who’ve overcome their own unique challenges, whether it’s the single mother studying between school runs, the warehouse worker who earned his Project Management qualification and doubled his salary, the recent retiree discovering a passion for digital marketing, or the teenager who saw his future and took action.

What makes these stories inspiring isn’t the age of the student – it’s their decision to take control of their career trajectory. Each week, our centres celebrate graduates who’ve overcome unique challenges, whether it’s the single mother studying between school runs, the warehouse worker who earned his Project Management qualification and doubled his salary, the recent retiree discovering a passion for digital marketing, or the teenager who saw his future and took action. At Pitman Training, we’re proud to support people at every stage of life who choose growth over comfort, action over hesitation, and skills over limitations. We’re honoured by Arman and all our graduates who show us that age is truly just a number. Many students face unique challenges, but they continue working toward their dreams and achieve them – and even if you weren’t reading before your first birthday or breaking world records, you can be inspired by their motivation and find ways to bring their drive into your own life.