Founder & CEO
Buckingham Futures (environmental health recruitment)

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Hi, I’m Ketan, I’m the owner and founder of Buckingham futures

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specialist Environmental Health Recruitment Agency.

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So prior to starting Buckingham Futures,

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I worked for two companies and I’ve helped set up divisions

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within existing recruitment businesses,

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setting up environmental health recruitment divisions.

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And then in 2013, I set up on my own.

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Having done it for other organisations previously.

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We cover the length and breadth of the UK, over 120 people

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working for us in all areas of environmental health, contaminated land, air quality,

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food safety, private-sector housing, pest control, licensing, etc..

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School wasn’t for me.

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I failed miserably in the school system,

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I sort of dropped out at quite a young age.

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I had a truancy officer assigned to me.

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However, I was very an avid reader and I loved reading

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and I loved reading about nature, about the environment.

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And I spent a lot of time whilst not at school

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following the curriculum in the library – in the local library

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reading books about the environmental sector.

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I left school without any qualifications whatsoever,

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and I did some odd jobs

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thereafter, primarily working in markets, cash in hand type of work

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did that for about three years.

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Then there was a pivotal moment in my life where under the guide of the probation

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service, I had to undertake some community work

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which involved clearing of hedgerows and pathways

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and dealing with environmental crime issues such as littering, litter

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picking, removal of graffiti. We were clearing some hedgerows

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and I actually discovered a newt and immediately recognized it as

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a great crested newt from the books that I’ve been reading in the library, right?

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So I told my supervisor this this endangered species is a great crested newt

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and everyone laughed at me.

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So the local library have a museum, had a museum upstairs

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and I told them that I’ve seen a great crested newt colony

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in an area where they got involved, and it was a big thing in the local papers

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that they couldn’t develop on that land, et cetera,

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because an endangered species had been found.

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So once I did the practical work under the guidance of the Probation

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Service, I went to the local college wanting to do GCSEs.

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And at this point, I wasn’t sure whether I actually wanted to go to university.

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I was because I didn’t know anyone who’d actually gone to university.

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Just such a big word.

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No one in my estate had gone to university, I didn’t know anyone.

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But, you know, I feel I won’t fit in, et cetera.

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And the head of science,

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Dr Theoconja, said to me,

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You definitely, you’ve got the right credentials,

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you’ve got the right abilities and you need to go to university .

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So he encouraged me to apply.

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I did,

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and I got a number of offers, but I stuck to my original choice

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of London South Bank University, offering the environmental biotechnology course.

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I graduated with a degree,

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did a master’s degree in environmental planning and management.

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What makes a good entrepreneur is resilience,

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tenacity, opportunities, but you’ve also got to be an empathetic.

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Sometimes you’ve got to put your hand up and admit you’re wrong,

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so you’ve got to be able to pivot quickly as well.

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If you see an opportunity pivot, you’ve made a decision

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like I fail quickly, I fail often.

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Take lots of chances and I make lots of little failures

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and then I make big wins.

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School certainly isn’t for everyone,

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but it’s just finding what you’re passionate about,

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and there are lots of different routes to reach your goal.

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Not necessarily academic.

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There’s lots of vocational routes, so it’s about finding your passion.