BYP Network - Black Professionals Network

Building a programme is one thing.

Building the right community around it is another.

Over the past few weeks, we've been working behind the scenes to bring Cohort 1 of the BYP Career Ready Accelerator to life and we're ready.

The modules are live. The webinars and resources are in place. Mentor matching is underway.

Over the next six weeks, participants will strengthen their CVs and LinkedIn profiles, prepare for interviews, build workplace communication skills, explore AI in the workplace, learn how to thrive in a new role, and develop a long-term career strategy, all through practical assignments, expert webinars and personalised mentoring.

This week, we brought together our mentors, and one thing became immediately clear: our participants are in incredibly good hands.

The conversation wasn't about logistics. It was about building confidence instead of dependence, creating accountability, and supporting career changers, graduates and early-career professionals through meaningful coaching conversations.

With 15+ years of experience across wealth management, financial services, technology, telecommunications, entrepreneurship and corporate leadership, our mentors add another layer of practical insight to an experience designed to turn learning into action.

We can't wait to welcome Cohort 1 on Monday. 🚀

"What line of work are you in?"

At 17 years old, Jon Perry asked a man in his community that simple question.

The answer?

"Insurance."

That conversation changed the course of his career.

Today, Jon is the Midwest Regional Manager, US Executive Risk at Beazley, leading underwriting teams, developing talent, and helping shape the future of the industry.

But his journey wasn't a straight line.

🎭 He loved performing; band, theatre, dance, anything that ended with applause.

📚 He studied business after being encouraged to pursue a practical career.

🎪 He even performed in a collegiate circus while studying Insurance and Risk Management.

Now, alongside leading underwriting teams, Jon serves on Beazley's Inclusion & Diversity Steering Committee and co-chairs Beazley RACE, championing a more inclusive future for the industry.

At Insurance Unfiltered: Real Stories & Bold Career Strategies, Jon will share the career lessons that rarely make it into job descriptions:

✅ The unwritten rules of progression
✅ Building influence beyond your role
✅ What leaders really notice
✅ How to navigate your career with intention

Sometimes, one conversation can change everything.

Join ours.

🎟️ Register today: https://f.mtr.cool/rlxcewshqn

Many professionals work hard to earn a good income.

Yet building long-term wealth requires more than earning well. It requires understanding how to save, invest, navigate financial systems, and make informed decisions that support your financial future.

Join BYP Manchester for Building Wealth & Closing the Financial Gap, an interactive session exploring practical strategies to help Black professionals build long-term financial security and create generational wealth.

Whether you're just starting your wealth-building journey or looking to strengthen your financial strategy, this session will provide practical insights you can apply with confidence.

Event details:

↳ Date: Thursday, 23 July 2026
↳ Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM BST
↳ Location: 422 Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester, M12 4EX

What to expect:

↳ practical strategies for saving, investing, and building long-term wealth

↳ insights into taxation and navigating financial systems more effectively

↳ conversations on creating financial security and generational wealth

↳ opportunities to learn from professionals with experience in wealth building and financial empowerment

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-wealth-closing-the-financial-gap-tickets-1993323405966?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

♻️Share with professionals in your network who would benefit from this conversation.

➕Join the BYP Chapters Community to connect, learn, and grow with professionals across our network

🚨 FINAL CALL: Applications for BYP Career Ready Accelerator close TODAY. 🚨

If you've been waiting for the "right time" to invest in your career, this is it.

Every day, talented Black professionals miss out on opportunities not because they lack potential, but because they haven't been shown how to position themselves, communicate their value, or navigate the workplace strategically.

The difference between getting overlooked and getting hired is often preparation.

The BYP Career Ready Accelerator is a 6-week, self-paced programme designed to help you:

✅ Build a CV and LinkedIn profile that gets noticed
✅ Master interviews with confidence
✅ Communicate effectively in the workplace
✅ Use AI to work smarter
✅ Thrive in your first 180 days in a new role
✅ Create a long-term career growth strategy

And you won't be doing it alone.

You'll be matched with an experienced mentor for weekly 1:1 mentoring sessions, join a community of ambitious Black professionals, and receive a FREE ticket to BYP Careers Fest.

Invest in skills and guidance that could shape your career for years to come.

The opportunity cost of waiting is far greater than the cost of getting started.

⏰ Applications close TODAY and Cohort 1 begins on the 13th of July.

Your future employer won't know what you're capable of unless you know how to show them.

Take the next step.

Secure your place: https://f.mtr.cool/puvafioque

Ready to accelerate your career?

The next opportunity in your career won't happen by chance, it happens when you're equipped with the right tools, guidance and support.

The BYP Career Accelerator Programme is a self-paced, six-week experience designed to help ambitious Black professionals take their careers to the next level.

As part of Cohort 1, you'll get:
✅A dedicated mentor, matched to your career goals
✅Practical, on-demand career modules you can complete at your own pace
✅Resources and templates to strengthen your CV, interviews, networking, personal brand and more
✅Access to a community of ambitious Black professionals
✅A FREE ticket to BYP Careers Fest, giving you direct access to employers, recruiters and industry leaders.

Whether you're aiming for your next role, a promotion, or greater confidence in your career, this programme is designed to help you get there.

Mentor matching will begin soon. Now is the time to secure your place.

👉 Learn more about the program and enrol: https://f.mtr.cool/fifnmtiaiz

Most professionals spend their careers collecting skills.

The most successful professionals build career assets.

There's a difference.

Skills help you do the job.

Career assets continue creating value long after you've learnt the skill.

Your reputation opens doors before you ask.

Your relationships create opportunities you can't predict.

Your expertise compounds with every project and every lesson.

Your judgement improves with experience.

Your curiosity keeps you relevant in a changing world.

Your integrity builds the trust that every great career depends on.

These aren't achievements to tick off.

They're investments that become more valuable over time.

This week, don't just ask what your next career goal is.

Ask yourself what career asset you'll invest in this week.

Because the greatest returns in your career often come from the assets you invest in long before anyone else notices them.

| Invest Well Today

The biggest thing holding your career back isn't your CV.

Or your degree.

Or even the job market.

It's the fact that you've been trying to figure it all out on your own.

Think about it.

When your phone breaks, you ask an expert.

When you're ill, you see a doctor.

When you want to get fit, you hire a coach.

But when it comes to your career, the thing you'll spend over 80,000 hours doing, you've somehow convinced yourself you should just... wing it.

Read another LinkedIn post.
Watch another YouTube video.
Download another CV template.
Hope something changes.

It rarely does.

The people who move fastest aren't always the smartest.
They're the ones who get feedback.
Who ask questions.
Who learn from people who've already walked the path.
Who stop guessing.

That's exactly why we built the BYP Career Ready Accelerator.

Not another course.

A place where you'll be challenged, mentored, held accountable and surrounded by people who refuse to settle.

Six weeks.
One mentor.
One community.
One decision that could completely change how you approach your career.

The question isn't whether the programme can help.

The question is...

Will you still be thinking about applying after applications have closed?

Every application we've received so far represents someone who decided to stop waiting and start investing in their future.

Will yours be next?

Applications close Wednesday, 8 July.

🚀 Apply now: https://f.mtr.cool/tmridjcpbo

Tomorrow, we open applications for Cohort 1 of the BYP Career Ready Accelerator.

If you've been saying:
👉 "I'll update my CV next week."
👉 "I need to get better at interviews."
👉 "I know I should be networking more."
👉 "I just need someone to show me what employers are actually looking for."

This is your sign.

The job market is changing. AI is changing how we work. Competition is growing. Yet many talented students, graduates and early-career professionals are still trying to navigate it alone.

That's why we built the Career Ready Accelerator.

Over six weeks, you'll gain the practical skills, confidence and career strategies to stand out; from building a stronger CV and LinkedIn profile to interviewing with confidence, using AI effectively at work, and succeeding in your first 180 days on the job.

You'll also be supported by mentors, join a community of ambitious peers, and receive a free ticket to BYP Careers Fest.

🚀 Applications open tomorrow AND close on the 8th!
📅 Cohort 1 begins on 13 July.

Don't miss your chance to be part of Cohort 1.

🎯 Applications open tomorrow. Save the page now and be ready to apply the moment registrations go live: https://f.mtr.cool/rghejsmddn

Everyone talks about "building a successful career."

Very few people talk about what it actually takes.

The difficult conversations.
The career mistakes.
The moments of self-doubt.
The sponsors who changed everything.
The opportunities missed and the lessons learned.

That's exactly what Insurance Unfiltered with Beazley is about.

No polished corporate answers.
No generic career advice.

Just honest conversations from professionals who've navigated the realities of building careers in insurance and are willing to share what they wish they'd known earlier.

If you're:
✔️ Exploring a career in insurance
✔️ Looking to accelerate your progression
✔️ Wondering how to stand out and get noticed
✔️ Curious about what success really looks like behind the scenes

This conversation is for you.

🎟️ It's completely FREE, but you do need to register to attend.

Reserve your place here:
https://f.mtr.cool/chhzjztufm

Bring your questions. Leave with practical strategies, honest insights, and a clearer picture of what it really takes to build a bold career in insurance.

"You've got to take those leaps and trust in yourself. That's the real core skill, trust yourself to take those moments, and they will take you to interesting places."

Tom Adeyoola, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, said this on our Leadership Conference stage, and it lands differently once you know the story behind it.

He didn't have funding lined up, didn't have a network of investors, and didn't have the safety of certainty. What he had was conviction in a problem worth solving, and the willingness to bet on himself anyway.

That's the real essence of adaptability. It's not about avoiding setbacks; it's about trusting yourself enough to keep moving even when the resources, the certainty, or the "right conditions" aren't there yet.

This was just one of the standout moments from his fireside chat on mastering the art of adaptability, turning career setbacks into growth opportunities.

Which of these quotes stayed with you?

Careers Fest x Leadership Conference 2026 is coming, and it's going to be big. More voices. More depth. More conversations worth having.
If you're someone with expertise worth sharing, we're looking for speakers who want to take the stage at one of the biggest platforms for this conversation. Apply here: https://f.mtr.cool/bvjxmwpiya