P E T-X i C A S E S T U DY PET-Xi
Sham’s Story - From student to classroom Shamsudeen ‘Shams’ Bello, aged 26, is originally from Nigeria, and came to the UK to study a Masters degree in Oil and Gas Engineering at Coventry University. While in Nigeria, he taught mathematics to students, and still had a passion for it, so he looked for tutoring opportunities in the area. He came across PET-Xi Training online, and saw it was looking to contract maths tutors to teach both children and adults as part of its courses. Shams decided to apply, and PET-Xi saw he was potentially an excellent fit for the role. He was given a maths assessment to test his ability, and subsequently scored 100 per cent on it. In the classes he has given so far, Shams has proven popular with the children and adults who he teaches, and PET-Xi have been delighted with his teaching.
However, the issue came in Shams’ immigration status. He was in the country on a student visa and needed a graduate visa in order for him to be officially self employed and therefore a contractor for PET-Xi. Support provided by PET-Xi Shams wanted to continue working with PET-Xi and set about applying for his graduate visa. But the costs of applying were close to £2,000 – money that Shams did not have. He raised the issue with Ruth Exelby, Head of People Management and Ofsted at PET-Xi, who then referred it to the PET-Xi Foundation.