Edward Kargbo, 20, a former Entry to Employment (E2E) student at City of Westminster College has much to celebrate because he has just been offered a place at university to study International Business.
The student dropped out of his local college because of personal circumstances, and by the time he was ready to consider returning to studying he had missed the following year’s enrolment dates. Then he spotted the E2E Business & Retail course at City of Westminster College. E2E are full-time courses for 16-19 year olds that combine skills training and work placements – and no prior qualifications are required.
Edward says: “I was looking at going straight into employment, but I thought I would give E2E a go and I joined the College in January 2008.”
Edward is very glad he gave it a go because he discovered not only an aptitude for studying, but a real passion for Business Studies. Despite making a long journey from south London every day, his attendance and punctuality were exceptional, as was the standard of work he submitted.
City of Westminster College Business Support Coordinator Mike Salkey says: “Edward soon became the flag bearer of the group – always willing to assist both his peers and the tutors. His work set a standard which will not be easily surpassed.”
After successfully completing E2E, Edward achieved an ICT Level 2 at the College. This qualification took him one step closer to his newfound goal of applying to university because it enabled him to apply for an Access Diploma course, which he is about to complete. When he applied to university he was delighted to be offered places at Hertfordshire, Southampton and Middlesex - and he takes up his place at Middlesex this autumn on an International Business degree.
Edward’s advice to other young people thinking about studying is to go for it. He says: “The E2E course at City of Westminster College was the platform for everything. It helped me see my future direction. I felt when I started that I had nothing to lose, but in fact what I discovered is that Business is something I feel passionate about. I plan one day to start my own venture.”
City of Westminster College offers E2E in six core subject areas, including Business, Construction, Culture, Media & Sport, IT, Retail and Science. For more information call 020 7723 8826 or visit www.cwc.ac.uk.