Plumbers and engineers who started out on workplace apprenticeships feature strongly in this year's list of Britain's self-made millionaires.
With a personal fortune of £1.2 billion, John Caudwell, head of mobile phone chain Phones 4u, leads the 25-strong list compiled by the City and Guilds vocational awards body.
Mr Caudwell, one of seven people on the list to have studied engineering, got his first job as an engineering apprentice at his local Michelin plant in Stoke-on-Trent in 1970.
Acknowledging the contribution of his apprenticeship to his success, he told The Times: "It was a disciplinary regime where I saw a lot of bad management practices, really bad, which taught me a lot about life."
He added: "If you want a vocational career it's definitely a good idea. It's a good basis and good training."
Meanwhile, John Lancaster left school without any qualifications, was made redundant within days of qualifying as an apprentice electrical engineer at 20, and has since become the world's leading manufacturer of conservatories.
Also on the list is Charan Gill, head of Harlequin Leisure, Europe's largest independent chain of Indian restaurants. His journey took him via an apprenticeship with Yarrow shipbuilders on the Clyde, where he worked nine years.
Celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver also feature on the list of entrepreneurs, whose collective value has risen from £2.7 billion last year to £4.2 billion. |
