As told by Louis Leslie Currie, of Hackney:

Since a young age, I have always dreamt of becoming a fireman. I studied at Morpeth secondary school and then went on to sixth form at Oaklands. I wanted to study public services but the course I wanted to attend was not full time. My mum didn’t want me at home all day doing nothing so I began my studies in health and social care. I soon discovered this wasn’t for me and I hated it.

After leaving college, I then looked into doing an apprenticeship. I was directed to a local Hackney service centre not far from where I live. I met an advisor who told me about Broadgate Connect and the landscaping apprenticeship. It immediately grabbed my attention so I began doing my research on the apprenticeship and Broadgate.

I was amazed at how much Broadgate had developed over the years and thought this was a great opportunity for me to take my next steps, though it wasn’t firefighting, I was up for giving this a go.

I was invited in for an interview with Chantell Brown, she was really nice and made me feel welcome, she asked me to talk about myself , my experiences, my interests, strengths and weaknesses.

This opportunity was amazing; it was close to home, easy to get to and a really nice place to work.

I am able to learn aspects of gardening, operating machinery and estate management.