Kwesi Bimpong
Doceo Alumnus, Goldman Sachs Degree Apprentice
Introducing Kwesi Bimpong, an Alumni of Doceo who participated in 2 programme streams; Doceo webinars and the Aspiring Leaders Programme. We asked Kwesi how he has found the Doceo programmes, and this is what he had to say:
I first came across Doceo via a referral from my older brother who went to university with Zoe. I really enjoyed the webinars I went to, especially the ones on personal branding and I was also part of the first cohort of Aspiring leaders.
If I had to summarise the main skill I’ve personally gained through being part of Doceo, I’d say it was how to build my personal brand. I had lots of encouragement to build my LinkedIn properly and I was encouraged to see the importance of having a personal brand in furthering your career prospects.
For me, Doceo wasn’t just a skills building programme. Doceo For opened up the idea of not just going down the traditional university route and helped me understand the benefits of apprenticeships. This didn’t just come from Doceo saying “Don’t just go to university” but came from the fact that I was given the opportunity to have a 1-1 mentoring experience with an IBM professional through Doceo and I learnt about how important apprenticeships were through their lived experience. I know I could have gone to a high esteemed university, but maybe it wasn’t for me at that time. Right now, I’m flourishing where I’m supposed to be.
I really appreciate how easy Doceo was for me to navigate. I remember when I joined Doceo, it was during the Covid-19 period and everything was pretty much virtual. I signed up to things like Amos Bursary, Target Oxbridge, SEO London and Doceo and by being part of these organisations I realised how well Doceo was suited to how someone of my age thinks. Doceo has a brand where students are given a nurturing space to grow, which is great. I remember being given the opportunity to hold a conversation with George Imafidon, Performance Engineer and CEO at Motivez on YouTube which was a great opportunity.
Doceo doesn’t just connect you with people in your chosen career path, it’s a community. For example, Doceo gives people who want to be engineers the opportunity to talk to doctors, mechanics and so many more. This helped me realised it’s important to connect with everyone; not just people in your field. I got a mentor from IBM through Doceo and now I work at Goldman Sachs.
I would definitely recommend Doceo to young people as I joined when I was in year 12 and I think it’s important to not just join groups that help communities but also to meet new people in these communities. There’s something about knowing that all the students in Doceo have a great growth mindset mentality but different skill sets so you know you’re in an environment where you can learn from others like you.
Thank you to the Doceo community, Zoe and Steph for all that you do.