To embark on his new career, Mike embarked on the following study:
ICB Level 2
ICB Level 3 & 4 (now just ICB level 3)
Payroll Management
Also available in discounted Course Packages


Following a career in sales, marketing and corporate HR, Mike Wadham of Essex had by his mid-50s reached the point where he needed a new profession.

Now age 60, he launched Tellos Consulting Ltd in January 2018 after securing his MICB Practice Licence through distance learning specialist Ideal Schools. He has been working as a contracted bookkeeper for a local educational provider during that time, while also pursuing further qualifications in payroll management and advanced bookkeeping.

“It is never too late to start rebuilding your career,” Mike said. “Those are two things Madonna and I have in common – we are both 60, and we can both re-brand ourselves.”

He originally heard of Ideal Schools through favourable word-of-mouth at a local ICB branch meeting. He was impressed by the Glasgow-based provider’s ability to offer a “complete package” that has given him the basics to get started and the ability to grow further by moving into payroll and accounting.

“They don’t just teach you how to drive the car, they teach you what’s going on inside the engine,” he explains.

“Also, I think it is very important to mention how easy it is to recover your investment in Ideal Schools. Let’s say a certain course costs something around about £300 – if you divide that by 52, that comes to £6 a week over the following year. If you divide that by 40 hours in a working week, all you have to charge is an extra 15p an hour to recover that outlay.”

 Mike describes himself as “not the retirement sort”, with plenty of life left ahead of him. Looking to the long-term, he sees finance as a good space to get into, as it relies on brain power rather than physical prowess.

He adds that the staff at Ideal Schools, led by director Brian McVean, are “really fantastic” to deal with, providing support when and how it is needed. Staff are available via telephone or online, and there is also a forum on Facebook which students can join.

“At 55 I needed to retrain and build a new career,” Mike says. “Being a 55-year-old male in this working environment is a story in itself – I hear a lot of men I know talking about being left on the scrapheap, but there are opportunities to open up new avenues in your career, if you are willing to take them.”