‘As a black guy with dreadlocks who grew up in Brixton, I felt they would never accept me, so I didn’t try’

Emmanuel Darlington, 28

EMMANUEL had done all the right things since coming to London as a six-year-old from Nigeria, studying hard and getting a 2.1 in his business management degree from Wolverhampton University, but one insurmountable obstacle prevented him getting started in his career. He could not see himself employed in a corporate setting. “I never knew people who looked like me in the corporate world,” he said. “As a black guy with dreadlocks who grew up in Brixton, I felt they would never accept me, so I didn’t try.”

The arrival of his son 15 months ago was a key moment. Until then, Emmanuel had dabbled in business, buying and reselling high-end trainers, but his income was volatile, varying between £3,000 a month and nothing. He needed a steady salary and turned to the youth empowerment organisation, 2020 Change, that had just helped his younger sister get a job with LexisNexis. “I saw huge change in my sister,” he said. “She had dropped out of uni and was lost but they got her on her feet and I thought, maybe they can sort me.”

Emmanuel signed up to their 10-week “I Am Change Programme” last year. “My expectations had been to get rich quick and buy my own yacht but I began to realise none of it was real. They got me to plan and strategise, but the biggest shift was in my head. Duro, who heads up the programme, is black like me and he encouraged me to see myself as having a future in the corporate world. I interviewed for a consultancy job at Staffing 360, a recruitment company that I met through a 2020 job fair. I got in and now earn a healthy salary. My niche is pushing diversity and inclusion in recruitment. I love it and feel confident and happy.”