I’m a experienced speaker & presenter to a range of audiences including students, business leaders, educationalists, parents and, well, the general public!

My talks aim to inspire, engage and inform audiences on topics such as careers, qualifications, employability, skills, creativity & education.

Some recent events

Enterprise UK

I was asked by the Government- and business-funded charity Enterprise UK (Make Your Mark) to take part in a policy debate on young people, the formal education system and entrepreneurship. The event was filmed and sent to thousands of policy makers & thinkers.

Suffolk One 16-19 learning centre launch

I was invited to present at the launch of the brand-new Suffolk One 16-19 learning centre. The talk was to several-hundred local students, teachers, careers advisers, sector skills councils, employers & training providers. I was asked to talk about my experiences, my thought-processes at key decision making times and the different paths the audience may take in life. The presentation was filmed as part of a new Government-funded channel called Parent TV.

The verbal feedback from our apprentices rated you as an excellent speaker who really motivated them. I personally enjoyed your presentation and I admire your make it happen mentality.
Dave Walsh, Head of BT Apprenticeships

BT Graduation event

I was approached by BT to speak alongside the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, Lord Young, at the BT apprentice graduation ceremony at the BT Tower. I called upon my knowledge of the skills agenda to motivate the audience in their future progression & to show that the path they took was the right one for them.

I just wanted to pass on a brief note of thanks for all your help yesterday. Your speech to the apprentices really hit the spot and many commented on how positive they felt about their decision as you really brought home the benefits of not going to uni.
Paul Speer, Apprenticeship Business Manager, BT

NOISE Symposium, Conservative Party Conference

The charity NOISE Festival asked if I would take part in a discussion to coincide with the Conservative Party Conference on Non-formal Learning vs. Formal Learning with guests including the Shadow Minister for Skills, David Evennett MP. They particularly wanted my thoughts on whether you can succeed without formal qualifications and if you can succeed in life without a form of non-formal learning.

Decisions at 18, CRAC

I was invited to deliver a speech at CRAC (the career development organisations) flagship conference, Decisions at 18. The conference was a national event attended by hundreds of careers advisors, university admissions tutors, Connexions advisors, headteachers and other careers professionals.

Your presentation was outstanding – it was clear and well structured and you were calm and very assured in your delivery.
John Hill, Head of Sixth-Form, QEHS Hexham.

Westminster Education Forum

I was asked to discuss the public’s confidence in the education system, particularly school leaver qualifications and whether examination marking is accurate. My viewpoints were told alongside Dr Mike Cresswell, Director General of AQA and Baroness Garden of Frognal, the Lib Dem spokesperson for Children, Schools & Families. The audience was made up of journalists, educationalists & policy makers. The event was filmed as part of my involvement in Channel 4’s Year Dot programme.

Feedback

Here are a selection of comments left anonymously at a careers advisor conference in the South West region…

Good to see such a highly motivated young person, (of course the key transition point in life is 29 – 32) this is when most people think about going to university

Very interesting concept based on experience.   Glad it was included

Inspiring

A really useful initiative and I will be introducing the website to a group of year 12/13s in a couple of weeks, so it’s very relevant

Was excellent to hear there was an alternative resource for students

Very enterprising young man offering a useful alternative the 18+ career development options

A useful resource that I will definitely use with young people

Nice and controversial and a brave choice in this context, very refreshing

Interesting perspective that is becoming more prominent amongst students

Great presentation and I will be using the website

I offered him a short term contract!

I’ve been saying this for years!

Good presentation skills and argument against “traditional” HE route

Great to hear a different perspective

Impressive young man

I hope to look into this and make links to our own careers resources