Real-life apprentices so valuable, says Alan Sugar
Mar 20 2009 by Roz Laws, Birmingham Post
Sir Alan Sugar rolled into Birmingham yesterday with a message to businesses to take on real-life apprentices.
The man behind the hit BBC1 show The Apprentice, which starts a new series next week, was grounded by fog so had to swap his helicopter for a chauffeur-driven car.
But when he finally arrived at the International Convention Centre, two hours late, he said businesses should be investing in the future.
And he gave short shrift to the suggestion he was using the seminar as a publicity stunt for his television show.
He said: “We have to be realistic about the tough times we are in but businesses also have to build their staff for the future and the apprenticeship scheme is all about building a loyal workforce.
“There is nothing better than having an apprentice in your business who learns how your company operates. Apprentices are real ‘doers’, making things happen and helping businesses grow and thrive.
“Times will change again and employers need to think about the future. The problem is that people think of apprentices as only working in trades like bricklaying and roofing but I’ve seen a full spectrum of skills today.”
Sir Alan, who revealed he employs three young apprentices in his Viglen IT company, met youngsters like 19-year-old Adam Walker, who is one of 132 apprentices at Jaguar Land Rover. He is spending four years working his way through departments from paint operations to financing.
Other apprentices at the ICC seminar were working as dental nurses, welders and in riding stables.
The number of apprentices qualifying in the West Midlands has more than doubled in four years, rising from 6,050 in 2004 to 13,570 last year.
Cabinet minister Ed Balls said: “It’s important to have the endorsement of someone like Sir Alan.
“The term apprentice had almost disappeared ten years ago but he has helped to promote it.
“Anyone who watches his programme knows he doesn’t mince his words and tells it straight, so when he says apprenticeships make good business sense I hope employers will listen.”
Sir Alan reacted angrily when it was suggested he was using the government scheme and his presence in Birmingham to promote his television series.
“If anything, these people are getting the benefit of my show, not the other way round,” he said, almost walking off in a huff. “I don’t need any help promoting it.”
The fifth series of The Apprentice begins on Wednesday with 15 hopefuls bidding for a £100,000-a-year job with Sir Alan.
Midlanders have been thin on the ground in previous series, with Ruth Badger and Jo Cameron among the more notable competitors. But this time a third of the contestants hail from the region. They are lawyer Anita Shah, of Birmingham, Walsall Council human resources worker Paula Jones, Staffordshire-born Kate Walsh, Coventry’s Majid Nagra and Howard Ebison,of Derby.
