We love hearing about how technical education can change people’s lives so when we met Josh Dixon, Managing Director at YourCode Recruitment Group, we just had to share his story.
Three years ago, in June 2015, I left high school without any formal qualifications having spent numerous months in my school’s isolation unit for misbehaviour, anger management issues and a generally poor attitude to education. At this time, I was on course to fail 10 out of my 12 GCSEs, with my careers advisor advising me that I should aim to become a HGV Driver as I wasn’t intelligent enough to work in business or go to university.
In September 2015, I joined Leeds City College’s ‘Apprenticeship Academy’ and this is where my misfortunes started to turn around. Flexibility, trust and an all-round more mature environment suited my style of learning much more and really helped me to develop the skills and confidence required to be successful in the workplace. The Academy, a vocational alternative option to Year 10 & 11, ensured I had multiple options post education, by granting me time to meet local businesses to experience the working life. This meant that when it came to interviews, I was much more prepared and knowledgeable about what companies required compared to my peers at high school.
Close to three years since I was stuck in an isolation booth with no career prospects, I’m now the Managing Director of YourCode Recruitment Group who employ Recruitment Consultants across Wakefield, London and Delhi (India). Over the last 2 years, I have built a name for myself within the industry by consistently providing excellent customer service and delivering on expectations with an array of clients across the UK. Recently, I was invited to open a TV show hosted by the winner of BBC’s hit TV series, ‘The Apprentice’.
In addition to building a fast-growing recruitment firm, I have also built a side career as a Keynote / Motivational Speaker within the education sector. This has seen me travel across the globe, consulting with private clients such as the BBC, Department of Education & Apprenticeships for England, as well as speaking at and headlining events in the UK, Dubai and Australia.
Most recently, I was invited to speak at the WorldSkills event, which attracts over 75,000 visitors, on BAE Systems’ ‘Top Influencers’ stage.
(Pic: Josh Dixon speaking at Apprenticeships4England event in Coventry, Aug 2017)
The key message to take from my story and what I want to pass on to others is the fact I have achieved the aforementioned with only 1 full year in technical education. I didn’t have a degree or 12 A*s to go to university, but I did have a solid work ethic and desire to succeed which has propelled me to the level I’m now at. If I can achieve this in such a short space of time, then so can you.
