Daniel returns to talk to WestKing students

On 19 November 2018, former WestKing student Darrell Sharpe returned to our Victoria Centre to talk to twenty Business students about their careers.

After leaving school aged 16 and working in a number of jobs, Darrell returned to education to improve his career prospects. He studied the Access to Higher Diploma in Business at Westminster Kingsway College which allowed him to progress to Nottingham Trent University, where he studied accounting. He graduated in 2017 and is now a Mandate Monitoring Analyst in Trade Compliance at Aviva investment and is part of the Investment 20/20 programme there.

Investment 20/20 is a careers programme which helps individuals learn about the opportunities available in the investment management industry. The programme provides information, advice and guidance about school leaver and graduate trainee programmes across their 39 partner companies and run a vibrant network for trainees with regular events and a trainee forum. Westminster Kingsway have started working with Investment 20/20 and, following an intensive recruitment process, six of our Business students have won places on the programme.

In his talk to the college’s Business students, Darrell explained how to get into the sector through school leavers schemes, intern and sandwich courses, graduation training schemes and apprenticeships. He went onto tell them about the work he does at Aviva and answered questions about his career. Darrell’s key take-away for the students was: “You don’t necessarily need to go to university to get the job you want.”

Darrell’s old tutor Mary Dolan said: “This was a great opportunity for the students to meet someone like them who has done so well.  Darrell said: “It was great to come back to the college, see old tutors and inspire the next generation. It’s very rewarding for me to be able to share information about the opportunities available in the investment industry”.

Share!