Before joining Colt’s graduate scheme in 2020, I had dreamed of moving to London and working in a busy office with lots of afterwork socials. Instead, it was the pandemic and I was working from home. Colt is a friendly place but I felt that I hadn’t maximised the experience and met as many of my colleagues as I’d hoped.
That’s why I wanted to set up an employee network for people early in their career, Next@Colt. It aims to bring together people globally to build connections, develop young talent and give back to the community. While the network is aimed at those who are early in their career, it’s open to everyone.
People can join, build friendships and create networks within the business, whether they joined Colt through the Early Careers (graduate and apprenticeship) programmes or any other junior role.
Working with Alex Hird and Noah Miles, two friends who were in my graduate cohort, we launched in January 2023 and now have over 230 people in the network, which is growing daily. At our face-to-face launch event in London, it was great to speak to people who I hadn’t met before. We also have representatives in eight countries and host local in-person and global virtual events, so I’ve met lots of people from across the world.
I’ve recently been given the opportunity to move to Belgium with Colt which I’m really excited about. Moving from the large head office to a smaller office in Belgium, I’m glad that I have the opportunity to stay connected with Colties across the world through Next@Colt.
