Barking & Dagenham College tutor named as an ‘employability champion’

Dilon Beqa, a Business and Finance Lecturer, has been crowned the South of England’s Regional Winner of the Santander Employability Champion of the Year award.

Dilon has been identified through his work with the national charity Career Ready which links schools and colleges with employers to help prepare young people for the world of work.

Through his work, Dilon has arranged for a range of career-enhancing opportunities for students, including arranging masterclasses, visits to city-based firms, mentoring, work experience and internship opportunities.

He attended the National Judging Day in London on 2nd April at Santander’s London HQ at Triton Square.

The National Judging Panel reviewed Dilon’s nomination and heard a presentation from him about his experience of running the Career Ready programme at the College. They then asked him questions about his work.

Tim Bamforth-White, Head of Business Industries at the College commented: “We aim to give all of our students the skills they will need in the workplace in addition to their qualifications; for one of our teachers to gain national recognition for being an employability champion is a very proud moment.”

Dilon commented “I am humbled to have won this award for two consecutive years. This year I dedicate the award to my team, our employers, Local Advisory Board members and my students for their collective efforts in building a winning career-ready results-driven programme.”