Learners starting their course at Pembrokeshire College this week had the opportunity to attend a talk by self-made businessman Joseph Valente. A former winner of BBC series The Apprentice, Joseph shared with learners his journey from expelled schoolboy to owning a multi-million pound business.

Joseph’s story is one of utter commitment, conviction and hard work. He shared with learners the highs and lows of the last 12 years along with his recipe for success: Create, maintain, grow.

During the Q&A sessions, Joseph candidly answered questions and offered advice to learners thinking of setting up their own businesses in the future, as well as sharing some of the key things he had learnt from working alongside Lord Sugar.

In total, over 900 learners attended the talks which were made possible thanks to Welsh Government as part of the Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy (YES) to encourage young people to be more entrepreneurial and help those interested in starting a business take their ideas forward. The Big Ideas Wales programme is part funded by European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government’s Business Wales service.

During his visit, Joseph also visited the college’s Energy Centre where he offered some words of encouragement to learners studying to become gas accredited - one of the key building blocks of Joseph’s own journey to become an entrepreneur and successful businessman.