Name: Aaron
Business: Course2Career
Location: Maidstone
Founded: 2019
➡️ What does your business do, and who do you help?
Course2Career retrains people for new careers in IT, cyber security, networking, project management and AI. We help people who feel stuck in the wrong job, people who are out of work, and people starting again after a big life change, and we give them the skills, qualifications and support to move into a career they actually want.
A big part of what we do is helping service leavers. As an ELCAS approved provider (number 14012), we help people leaving the Armed Forces use their military learning credits to retrain for civilian careers. They bring years of leadership, discipline and experience. We help them turn that into qualifications and a CV that civilian employers recognise.
Every career programme includes the official exams employers ask for by name, such as CompTIA Security+ and Cisco CCNA, with practical training so learners can do the job, not just pass the test. And we do not stop at the qualification. Every programme comes with a Guaranteed Route to Job Placement on completion, and our recruitment team works with each learner on their CV, interview preparation and applications until they are ready to step into their new role.
We also train Kent businesses, helping teams get safer online and work smarter with AI.
At its heart, Course2Career is about one thing: changing careers, and with them, changing lives.
➡️ What sparked the idea for your business?
Course2Career came from one simple frustration: the skills gap. Industries like cyber security, IT, cloud and data were growing fast, and every employer I spoke to said the same thing. They could not find enough people with the right skills. At the same time, I kept meeting capable people who wanted a better career but had no idea how to get into these industries. Many had been told they needed a degree, or they had paid for a course, been left with a certificate, and still could not get a foot in the door.
Both sides wanted the same thing and nothing was joining them up. That did not make sense to me. The jobs were there and the people were there. What was missing was practical training built around what employers actually ask for, with the official exams included and real support at the end to help people get hired.
So in 2019 I started Course2Career to close that gap. Everything we do still comes back to one question: what do employers need right now, and how do we get people there as quickly as possible?
➡️ How did you win your very first customers?
Our very first learners came from free adverts online. There was no big marketing budget at the start, so I wrote simple, honest ads about what we offered and who it was for, then put them anywhere people were looking for a change of career. The enquiries started coming in, and that first handful of learners proved the idea worked: people wanted a clear route into IT and cyber security, and they were willing to invest in it.
I learned a few lessons quickly. First, speed matters. Someone thinking about a new career has the courage to enquire in that moment, so calling them back the same day makes all the difference. Second, people do not buy a course, they buy an outcome. Once I started talking about the job at the end, the exams that employers ask for and the support to get hired, rather than just the course content, far more enquiries turned into learners. Third, a real conversation beats any advert. Most people had been let down by training before, so taking the time to answer their questions honestly built the trust that got them started.
Those early lessons still shape how we work today.
➡️ What do you enjoy most about running your own business day to day?
Honestly? The freedom. I spent enough years in the rat race, answering to bosses who knew less about the job than I did. I am sure you know the feeling. Running my own business means I get to make the decisions, back my own judgement and build something the way I believe it should be done, without having to run every good idea past someone who does not understand it.
That freedom comes with long days and plenty of pressure, but it is pressure I chose, and that makes all the difference. When things get busy or stressful, what keeps me going is knowing that every decision I make has a direct impact on real people. When a learner calls to say they have passed their exam or landed a new job, that is the best part of the day.
There is a nice irony in it too. A lot of our learners come to us because they are stuck in jobs they have outgrown, working for people who do not value what they can do. Helping them break out and build a career on their own terms is the same freedom I wanted for myself. That is what drives me every day.
➡️ What has been the toughest challenge you have faced as a business owner so far?
The toughest challenge has been the weight of running everything at once. In the early days I was the salesperson, the marketer, the admin team and the person answering every question, often late into the evening. When you are that stretched, the stress builds quickly, and the risk is that the quality of what you deliver slips. I learned that I could not grow the business by working harder alone.
Expanding the business brought its own pressure. Every new programme, new hire and new system is a risk, and you are responsible for getting it right for the learners who trust you with their careers. The way through was to build a team I could rely on, put proper systems in place so nothing falls through the cracks, and let people own their part of the business. Handing over control was hard, but it is the only reason we have been able to grow.
The biggest challenge of all has been building trust. Training is an industry where many people have been let down before, by courses that promised a lot and delivered a certificate and little else. People are right to be cautious. We have earned trust the slow way: becoming accredited by CompTIA, Microsoft and the other awarding bodies, being approved by ELCAS, being open about our prices, including the exams in the price, and sharing real stories from learners like Benjamin.
What it changed is how I run the business. I focus on the things only I can do, I trust my team with the rest, and I never take a learner's trust for granted. Every decision comes back to one question: will this help someone get the skills and the job they came to us for?
➡️ What are you most proud of building so far, and what is next for your business?
What I am most proud of is that we have built a real system that gets people into the jobs they deserve. Not just a set of courses, but a full journey: practical training built around what employers want, the official exams included in the price, and a recruitment team that stays with each learner until they are ready to step into a new role. When I see someone like Benjamin go from leaving the Navy with no civilian qualifications to a senior project management role, I know the system works. Every learner who changes their career with us is a reminder of why I started.
What comes next is reaching more of the people who need it most. There are so many capable people out of work who simply have not had the chance to gain the skills employers are crying out for. We want to work with unemployed people to help them change their circumstances through training, and we are currently in discussions about Jobcentre funding so that cost is not the thing standing between someone and a better future.
Alongside that, we are bringing more of our training to Kent businesses, from cyber security awareness for staff to our AI & Data Skills Package, so local teams can work safer, faster and smarter. Whether it is one person looking for a fresh start or a whole team that needs new skills, the goal is the same: close the skills gap, one person at a time.
➡️ Have any mentors, role models, or other business owners influenced your journey?
My biggest influence was not a mentor in the usual sense. It was my experience before I started Course2Career, working at another training company in the same industry. I saw how things were done from the inside, and too often the focus was on selling the course rather than on what happened to the learner afterwards. People were signing up with real hopes of a new career and then being left on their own once the payment had gone through.
Seeing that was frustrating, but it was also the push I needed. I could see exactly what needed to change: training built around what employers want, exams included so there are no surprises, and real support to help people into work at the end. I knew I could do it better, so I did.
That experience still shapes how I run the business every day. Whenever we make a decision, I think back to what I saw there and make sure we are doing the opposite. In a way, some of the best lessons I learned were in how not to do things.
➡️ If you were starting your business again today, what would you do differently?
If I were starting again, the first thing I would do differently has nothing to do with business plans, marketing or cash flow. I would start taking hair loss medication on day one. Nobody warns you that running a business is basically a very expensive hair removal programme. By the time I noticed, I was on a first-name basis with a clinic in Turkey, and one hair transplant was not enough, so I went back for a second. So my number one piece of business advice: protect your hairline before you protect your profit margins. Your accountant can fix your books, but nobody can fix your forehead without a flight to Istanbul.
On a more serious note, I would build the team and the systems much earlier. In the early days I tried to do everything myself, and I held on to every task for far too long. If I had brought the right people in sooner and put proper processes in place from day one, we would have grown faster, and I would have had a lot less stress (and kept a lot more hair).
I would also trust my instincts sooner. I knew from the start what kind of training business I wanted to build, but it took time to fully back myself. These days, if something feels right for our learners, we act on it. Looking back, I wish I had done that from the beginning.
➡️ What makes your way of doing things different?
The biggest difference is that we focus on what people can actually do, not just what they know. A lot of training is theory: you read, you watch, you pass a test, and you still would not know where to start on day one of a real job. We build our training around practical skills, with hands-on labs and real-world tasks, so learners leave knowing how to do the work employers are hiring for.
The second difference is that our job does not end when someone gets their qualification. For most training providers, the certificate is the finish line. For us, it is the halfway point. The goal has always been a job, so every career programme comes with a Guaranteed Route to Job Placement on completion. We help learners with their CV, prepare them for interviews and put them forward for roles, so they are not left on their own with a certificate and no idea what to do next.
We also include the official exams in the price, for certifications employers ask for by name, such as CompTIA Security+ and Cisco CCNA. That way there are no hidden costs, and learners finish with the credentials and the practical skills that get people hired.
➡️ What is one thing people often misunderstand about your industry or the work you do?
The biggest myth in our industry is that you need a degree to work in cyber security or IT. So many people rule themselves out before they even start because they think the door is closed to them without a university education. It is not. When we checked 31 UK cyber security job adverts, 30 of them did not ask for a degree at all. What employers actually ask for are named certifications, like CompTIA Security+ or Cisco CCNA, and the practical skills to do the job.
The second myth is the opposite one: that a certificate on its own is enough. People pay for a course, pass the exam and expect the job offers to roll in. In reality, employers want to see that you can apply what you know, and you still need a strong CV, interview practice and the right roles to apply for. That is why we focus on practical skills and stay with our learners through the recruitment process, rather than handing over a certificate and wishing them luck.
The truth sits between the two. You do not need a degree, but you do need the right certifications, real skills and support to get your foot in the door. Get those right, and a career in cyber security or IT is far more achievable than most people think.
➡️ Can you share an example of a customer, project or job that sums up what you do well?
Benjamin's story sums up what we do. He had recently left the Royal Navy and, like many service leavers, he had years of real leadership experience but none of the civilian qualifications employers look for on a CV. He knew he could run projects. What he needed was a structured route that turned his military experience into something the corporate world would recognise.
He joined our Project Management Career Programme and worked towards the certifications employers ask for, including PRINCE2 Practitioner and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. With course materials, tutor guidance and exam preparation along the way, he passed his exams first time.
That is where most training providers would have stopped. For us, it was the halfway point. Our recruitment advisor, Roxanne, worked with Benjamin on his CV so his naval leadership translated into the language civilian employers use. She helped him track his applications in a structured way, prepared him for interviews and gave him feedback after each one.
The result: Benjamin secured a Senior Consultant role with FDM Group, working as a contracted Project Manager for technology companies, financial institutions and public sector organisations. He now plans, coordinates and delivers projects using PRINCE2 and Agile methods every day.
He went from leaving the Navy with no civilian qualifications to a senior consulting role in project management. Practical skills, the right certifications and real support into a job: that is exactly why Course2Career exists.
➡️ What do customers tend to appreciate most about working with you?
The word that comes up again and again in our reviews and conversations is helpful. People tell us they appreciate that someone actually picks up the phone, answers their questions properly and takes the time to understand what they want from their career before recommending anything.
That helpfulness carries on long after someone enrols. Learners often say they value having real people to turn to when they are stuck, whether that is a tutor explaining a difficult topic before an exam, or our recruitment team helping them rewrite a CV or prepare for an interview. Changing career can feel daunting, and knowing there is someone in your corner makes a big difference.
I think it stands out because so many people have had the opposite experience elsewhere: they pay for a course, get a login and never hear from anyone again. We do the reverse. We stay helpful from the first phone call to the first day in a new job, and I believe that is why so many of our learners recommend us to friends and family.
➡️ What advice would you give to someone in Kent who is thinking about starting their own business?
My advice is simple: focus on what you are good at. When you start a business, it is tempting to try to be everything to everyone and to do every job yourself. That is the quickest way to burn out and end up doing a lot of things badly. Work out the one thing you do better than anyone else and build the business around it.
I built Course2Career on something I knew inside out: training, and what it takes to get people into work. I did not try to become an expert in everything else overnight. The parts I was not good at, I learned enough to get by and then brought in people who were better at them than me. That is when the business really started to grow.
If you have a good idea but you are nervous about taking the first step, that is normal. Start small, start with what you know, and get it in front of real customers as quickly as you can. You will learn more from your first ten customers than from months of planning. You do not need to have every answer on day one. You just need to be good at one thing that people want, and willing to keep improving everything else.
➡️ What is your favourite place in Kent to grab a coffee, take a break, or find inspiration?
For me, it is not a coffee shop, it is the gym. I train at a lot of different local gyms around Kent, and that is where I go to clear my head, take a break from the screen and think things through. Some of my best ideas for the business have come to me halfway through a workout rather than sat at a desk.
Running a business can take over your whole life if you let it, so having somewhere to switch off and look after yourself makes a big difference. It is also a great way to meet people. You would be surprised how many conversations about careers, training and business start at the side of a gym floor.
My recommendation to other local business owners: find your version of the gym. Whatever it is that gets you away from the laptop and clears your head, make time for it. Your business will be better for it.
You can contact Aaron and his team at Course2Career here:
Name: Aaron
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0800 294 6300
Website: https://www.course2career.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/course2career
Facebook: facebook.com/course2careerUK
Instagram: @course2career
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