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SEKHON GROUP OF COMPANIES
Understanding the importance of education comes easy to Iqbal Singh Sekhon (also known as Simmy), a successful solicitor and now CEO of the Sekhon Group - all he has to do is look within his own family – especially to his father, Nirmal Singh MBE, for confirmation of how education can put you on the road to success.
And it’s this understanding that education can be “the cornerstone to success” that has seen the Sekhon Group, Simmy Sekhon and his father Nimal to share their expertise and enthusiasm for learning to encouraging youngsters to get the best education, by supporting the Yorkshire Champions Group.
Arriving in the UK as 15-yer-old with minimal education schooling, Mr Nirmal Singh understood instinctively that education was the way forward. He attended evening classes to improve his English and numeracy skills, and while this may not seem that impressive, they gave him the grounding and the confidence to, at the age of 21, to start his own business, the highly successful quilt manufacturing company Nirmal Razai Mart & Company Ltd, and subsequently the Sekhon Group.
Mr Singh, and his wife Harmesh, made sure that they invested in their two sons’ education. Frequently going without to pay the fees to ensure Iqbal Singh Sekhon and his brother received the best possible schooling.
It was a stance which paid off. Iqbal is a successful solicitor and property development, and his brother, Narinder Singh Sekhon, is now a barrister.
It is this firm belief in the transformative power of education that has led to Simmy Sekhon and the Sekhon Group to become involved with the charity group The Yorkshire Community Champions.
The Yorkshire Champions Group is an initiative founded by Gill Arnold JP DL, which takes individuals and business leaders into local schools to outline their life story and to highlighting the importance of education and how it benefited them and how it can benefit youngsters and help them achieve their long-term goals and ambitions.
A community champions personal background and situations may be different, such as Mr Nimal Singh’s, but it is that difference that youngsters can relate to and have been totally engaged with Mr Singh’s amazing journey from working in a bakery to becoming one of Yorkshire’s leading businessmen, and how the most basic of educations can transform someone’s life.
The aim is to support the school and the teachers as well as the pupils.
“When a community champion is invited into a school they will talk about their own journeys and endeavour to inspire, encourage, and motivate these young people. We would like to try and change the attitude and the way some students feel about education,” said Mr Iqbal Singh Sekhon.
“My father had a basic education, but he was able to use that knowledge to become a successful businessman and subsequently was made an Honorary Fellow by the University of Bradford.
“We are hoping that we can inspire youngsters to do far more than achieve the basics, and that they will go on to reach their full potential.
“We believe that everyone has the potential to succeed to some degree or other and that an education is the cornerstone to success.
“What Gill Arnold has done with the Yorkshire Champions Group in turning lives around, is amazing and the Sekhon Group, me and my father, are proud to play a part in the YCG’s continuing success.”
The community champions help and support what they describe as an 'Educational Bank Account'. Every bit of effort and knowledge they retain now is almost like banking invisible money, and without realising it, they are already preparing and contributing to this Educational Bank Account, which will pay dividends later.
This will give them something to offer and enable them to have choices in life. In addition, it will prepare them to stand on their own two feet, take care of their families and feel like a worthwhile member of society.
“If, as a community champion, we can help young people to see the connection between the effort and hard work they put in today and the opportunities that will open on leaving school with a full Educational Bank Account, our initiative has been a success.”
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