How to gain experience in bookkeeping/accounting?

Unfortunately you are caught in the usual vicious circle that all school and college leavers and university graduates face. Without practical experience nobody wants to offer you a job and without having your first job you have no experience.

The only way to break out of this vicious circle is to apply to local accountants as a trainee on work experience. They will either pay you very little or nothing under the pretext of training you. Other options are to ask any relatives or family members who own a business to let you do their book keeping for free.

Final option is to approach local community centres, churches, shops etc and offer your services to them for free for the first couple of months and once you have learnt the job they can start paying you the basic minimum wage.

Sorry but there is a recession out there, there are hundreds of thousands of University graduates and college students out there without jobs so the competition you face will be very stiff.

Well, it depends how old you are really.

Some high schools do evening classes for things like this, but you have to be over 18/19 to attend. It depends where you are. So you could look out for those?