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JCB chairman tops list of wealthiest ex-apprentices

Thanks to Caroline Betts for passing this article onto us.  Caroline is a Senior Skills Manager at Essex County Council

City & Guilds hopes ‘skillionaires’ will inspire others to succeed without a degree

A vocational rich list has named the chairman of JCB as the country’s wealthiest ex-apprentice, with a fortune of £2.15 billion.

Sir Anthony Bamford, whose career began with a two-year apprenticeship at Massey Ferguson before he took over the construction equipment company, topped the list of “skillionaires” - Britain’s wealthiest people who have taken apprenticeships or other vocational qualifications.

The rich list was compiled by Philip Beresford, the creator of the annual Sunday Times Rich List, for City & Guilds and WorldSkills 2011, the international skills competition being held in London for the first time in October.

While Sir Anthony’s father founded the company which he now chairs, second place on the list goes to a self-made man: Laurence Graff, the “king of diamonds”.

After leaving school in the East End of London at 14 and becoming an apprentice to a Hatton Garden jeweller, Mr Graff has built a fortune valued at £2 billion.

Last November he broke the record for the world’s most expensive piece of jewellery with the purchase of a £28.8 million pink diamond.

His diamond business is worth £1.7 billion, with the rest of his wealth consisting of homes in Gstaad, London, Cap Ferrat and New York City, a 150-foot yacht, a Stellenbosch vineyard and a £125 million art collection.

Others named in the list include City & Guilds-qualified celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 33rd place with £106 million, Dragons’ Den star and businesswoman Deborah Meaden with £40 million in joint 63rd place with fashion designer Karen Millen, and Stella McCartney (£15 million).

At 36 years old, Mr Oliver is the youngest of the top 100 vocational millionaires. A fortune of £10 million is required to make it on to the list, with fellow chef Gary Rhodes, another former City & Guilds student, bringing up the rear.

Former engineering apprentices make up 24 of the top 100, while the most represented industries were high tech companies, property and construction, and the leisure industry.

City & Guilds said they hoped the publication of the list would highlight the success of people who did not attend university and inspire young people to achieve.

Chris Jones, director general of City & Guilds, said: “Our latest vocational rich list proves you don’t need a degree to succeed. The list not only celebrates the success of Britain’s leading businessmen and women, but also serves as an inspiration to others to discover their talent and unlock their potential through vocational education and skills training. Many of the contestants at this year’s WorldSkills London event have done just that and I have no doubt that one day we will see some of their names on the list.”

Also on the list in 49th place was Britain’s wealthiest plumber, Charlie Mullins, who founded and runs Pimlico Plumbers and whose wealth is estimated at £55 million. He left school at 15 with no qualifications before taking up an apprenticeship.

“That was a mistake - I should have left at 14,” he said, describing his apprenticeship as the best thing he had ever done. Now his company employs 180 people and has a turnover of £15 million a year.

He said: “Not everyone wants to be a leader or to run a business. But knowing a trade means you can have a job on a stable basis for life, and run your own business if you like. We need tradesmen more than ever, not just pushing towards everybody going to university.”

RICH LIST

The top 10 vocational achievers

1. Sir Anthony Bamford. £2.15 billion. Chairman of JCB. Former apprentice with Massey Ferguson.

2. Laurence Graff. £2 billion. Chairman of Graff Diamonds. Former apprentice with Hatton Garden jeweller.

3. John Caudwell. £1.5 billion. Founder of Phones4U. Former Michelin apprentice.

4. Sir James Dyson. £1.45 billion. Chairman of Dyson. Qualified in industrial design at the Royal College of Art.

5. Sir Terry Matthews. £1.4 billion. Founder of over 80 telecommunications companies. Former Post Office research department apprentice.

6. Jim McColl. £570 million. Chairman and chief executive of Clyde Blowers engineering company. Former apprentice engineer.

7. Trevor Hemmings. £550 million. Leisure tycoon who owned Blackpool Tower and Pontins. Former apprentice bricklayer.

8. Sir David McMurtry. £450 million. Chairman and chief executive of precision engineering company Renishaw. Former apprentice with Rolls- Royce.

9. Sir Arnold Clark. £430 million. Chairman and chief executive of Arnold Clark Motors. Former apprentice shoe designer.

10. Steve Morgan. £400 million. Chairman of Redrow builders. Studied an Ordinary National Diploma in civil engineering at Liverpool Polytechnic.

 

 

In the Recruitment Sector? Fancy a chat?

Hi,  I'm looking for some 'mainstream' recruitment agencies to contact me to have a chat about some ideas that I have with regard to apprenticeships within employers.  I want to chat to agencies around the UK but would be very interested in agencies in and around the North East.

I feel there is some good work that could be done by NEAC in partnership with other agencies, using creative ways of working, and I would like the opportunity to have a chat about how we can invest in the future skills of the workforce 'together' by investing in young people.

If you want to find out more, e-mail me at paul.champion@neapprenticeship.co.uk, or call me on 0191 4902453.

Maybe we can create something great through a very small investment of our time?

NEAC hits the green button with new apprenticeship initiative

The North East Apprenticeship Company (NEAC) is launching an initiative to recruit new apprentices for ‘green’ training places.

The programme kicks-off during National Apprenticeship Week 2011 (next week Monday 7^th to Friday 11th Feb) and is aimed at finding potential young apprentices for future employment specifically in the environmental sector.

Planned job roles and targeted sectors will include environment officer, carbon management and eco tourism as well as recycling, waste disposal and pollution control.

The move comes as the environmental sector is expanding due to increasing concern about climate change and pollution and will see NEAC working towards becoming the first organistaion of its type to achieve an environment award from the Environmental Academy.

The Swalwell-based Academy is a national training and consultancy company which provides businesses with support on environmental, quality and health and safety issues.

It was established to help industry, commerce and the education sector to meet growing demands of new legislation in these areas, offering consultancy services for people working in the environmental sector or looking to CPD with professional tuition.

The first new NEAC apprenticeship to be launched, in partnership with the Environmental Academy, will be for apprentice environmental management administrators with green apprentices starting work very soon.

Training will be delivered in partnership with WBL Providers and Colleges and those who participate will, as part of their apprenticeship, help employers find new ways of reducing their carbon footprint – as well as assisting them in working towards achieving internationally recognised quality standards like ISO 14001.

Apprentices will learn how to undertake, for instance, green audits for their employers as part of the skills training they receive. This will enable them to identify areas where improvements can be made, boosting their employers’ environmental credentials and helping them reduce carbon emissions and recycle more.

As part of the move, NEAC will be offering a free consultation service to help employers improve their carbon footprint

NEAC aims to create over 1000 new apprentice jobs in the North East over the next few years. Almost 150 companies have signed up with the NEAC since it was launched and more than 400 potential apprentices have registered for placements.

As well as handling the recruitment and selection of young people for apprentice placements NEAC provides an HR function for its candidates and delivers their training through locally-based providers.

NEAC managing director, Paul Champion, said: “The green job market is growing due to increasing concern about climate change and pollution, and as a result tighter regulations are affecting more businesses than ever before.

“We have partnered with the Environmental Academy to support Green Apprenticeships and encourage business growth through environmental training and awareness.

”With this partnership we will screen and select the right ‘green’ apprentices to undergo government funded training to ensure they have the skills that will benefit each individual company.”

Rita Callendar, managing director of the Gateshead-based Environmental Academy said: "We are very pleased to be working with NEAC on this innovative new programme.

"For a company hiring a green apprentice the benefits are great. This is an opportunity for the business to show a first step taken towards showing environmental management expertise or to enhance their existing arrangements.

"The green apprentice, while working and training will also help the company achieve an Enviro Award. And the apprentice gets the opportunity to qualify in a role that will fit a growing job market in Green careers."

Apprenticeship Week 2011 aims to highlight the talents and skills of apprentices and celebrate the value of apprenticeships. More about NEAC at www.neapprenticeship.co.uk or email info@neapprenticeship.co.uk blog: www.apprenticeshipblog.com Tel: 0191 490 2453.

Tim Lamb and NEAC,bringing business into schools programme.

 

 

 

 

 

Apprenticeship experts go back to school

 

Experts from a company which finds apprentices for regional companies have gone back to school to teach the latest generation of students the skills required to succeed in business.

The North East Apprenticeship Company’s (NEAC) Judith Jackson and Tim Lamb visited St Joseph’s RC Comprehensive School, Hebburn today (Monday 7^th Feb) to mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week 2011 (7 – 11 February).

The event aims to highlight the talents and skills of apprentices and celebrate the value of apprenticeships.

Tim – who is the general manager of the Metrocentre and NEAC’s first ambassador - promoted the benefits of apprenticeships, sharing his positive experiences and how they have shaped his own career.

They explained how an apprenticeship can provide that important first step on the ladder to career success.

Possessing a positive attitude, being confident and well organised, as well as being good with people, were just some of the tips given to the students, many of who were thinking about how they could improve their chances of getting a job when they leave school later this year.

Tim explained how his career had began when he became an apprentice in the parts department at Mill Garages when he was 16-years-old. This paved the way for a successful career in customer service based industries culminating in becoming general manager of Eldon Square before taking up his current job at the MetroCentre.

“As a former apprentice myself, there’s no better way to learn a trade and gain some valuable skills than through an apprenticeship. It certainly helped me to get where I am today.

It’s also interesting is to see the sheer variety of apprenticeships now available to young people keen to get on in life.

“From business admin and bricklaying through to the more unusual like falconry and designing computer games and websites, there’s a whole new world of opportunity for open to ambitious and go ahead school leavers.”

School Students said: “Tim and Judith’s advice was very helpful because I had been thinking about what I was going to do when I leave school this summer.

“I definitely think that an apprenticeship might be a possibility as not only gain I gain some skills an employer wants but also continue to student for a useful qualification.”

NEAC, which has a regional brief to expand apprenticeship positions, aims to tackle the skills gap by creating more than 1,000 new apprentice jobs by 2012, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

More than 150 companies have already signed up with the NEAC since it was launched and more than 400 potential apprentices have registered for placements.

Visit www.neapprenticeship.co.uk or email info@neapprenticeship.co.uk Tel: 0191 490 2453.