Britain’s ‘Skillionaires’ Revealed

LONDON, August 9, 2011 -

From football and motor racing to hairdressing and catering, the City & Guilds Vocational Rich List 2011 features big names from multiple industries

A-level students might think twice about their career options as research released to celebrate WorldSkills London 2011 − the UK’s biggest showcase of vocational skills for over 20 years − reveals the riches accrued by Britons with a vocational education.

The City & Guilds Vocational Rich List ranks wealth among those who have built their fortunes following an Apprenticeship or other practical qualification. And defying the downturn, the seventh edition of the List shows Britain’s self-made, vocational elite are worth a collective £17.6 billion - a billion pound increase since 2008.

The List, independently compiled by Philip Beresford, author of the annual Sunday Times Rich List, will be welcome news to many as it proves you don’t need to be born rich to become rich. Now worth millions, 94 of the top 100 have made their way in the business world on their own merits. Instead, household names including John Frieda (position 22) and Formula One backroom star Ross Brawn (position 34) began their careers as apprentices.

And, contradicting Lord Alan Sugar, who recently commented that he is yet to meet an engineer “who can turn his hand to business,” 24 of the top 100 vocational millionaires have made their fortune following an engineering Apprenticeship. This includes Sir Anthony Bamford, the JCB billionaire, who saw his family fortune shoot up to £2.15 billion this year, putting him in pole position.

Dragon’s Den judge and leisure industry magnate Deborah Meadon (position 63) adds a boost to the number of women on the list with her self made fortune valued at £40 million. Deborah is one of a handful of well known women including fashionastas Linda Bennett, founder of LK Bennett (position 41), City & Guilds qualified Karen Millen (position 63) and Stella McCartney and cook and food writer, Delia Smith (both position 89).

Delia joins a host of other well-known TV Chefs including Jamie Oliver (position 33), Rick Stein (position 79) and Gary Rhodes (position 100) all of whom started their careers having completed a vocational catering qualification.

But while celebrity chefs may have cooked themselves up a fortune, it’s the entrepreneurs from industry, including high tech sectors, that lead the way in the 2011 List making up 30 of the 100, up nine from 2008. They are followed by property and construction with 25 millionaires and the leisure industry with ten.

The regional spread is as even as the spread in industry with only 24 of the 100 coming from the South East, breaking the North South divide. Scotland is second with 20 individuals on the list, followed by the North West with 11 and Yorkshire and the Midlands tie in fourth place with nine.

Chris Jones, CEO and 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 business men 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.”

Entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden, who appears at position 63 in the list, added:
“As someone who set up their own business at a young age, I know only too well how important it is to have the right skills and the right attitude to become successful. I think it’s wonderful that industrious, talented young people are being celebrated through WorldSkills London 2011; skills really do mean business and I hope that the Competition inspires people to think about different ways to achieve their goals.”

The release of the latest City & Guilds Vocational Rich List will be particularly welcomed by the country’s Geminis as the research shows people born under this star have the business nous to be leading entrepreneurs - 1 in 5 Vocational Rich millionaires are Geminis including diamond billionaire Laurence Graff (position 2), Jamie Oliver (position 33), former Formula One World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart (position 62), and John Bloor (position 11) who revived motorbike manufacturer Triumph.

Aidan Jones, Chief Executive of WorldSkills London 2011 said:
“You don’t need to marry into money, appear on Big Brother or go to university to become rich, the City & Guilds Vocational Rich List shows all you need is talent and ambition to become the next ‘Skillionaire’. The competition in October aims to open people’s eyes and capture people’s imaginations, allowing thousands to discover their career aspirations and show that you can achieve your ambitions through skills.”

City & Guilds Vocational Rich List 2011: Top 20 Millionaires

                             Wealth
    Rank  Name               (GBPm)     Background           Region
          Sir Anthony
    1     Bamford            2,150      Industry             Staffordshire
    2     Laurence Graff     2,000      Diamonds             London (East)
    3     John Caudwell      1,500      Mobile phones        Stoke-on-Trent
    4     Sir James Dyson    1,450      Industry             Malmesbury
    5     Sir Terry Matthews 1,043      Telecoms             Newport
    6     Jim McColl           570      Industry             Glasgow
                                                             London /
    7     Trevor Hemmings      550      Property and leisure Lancashire
    8     Sir David McMurty    450      Industry             Dublin
    9     Sir Arnold Clark     430      Car sales            Glasgow
                                        Property and
    10    Steve Morgan         400      construction         Liverpool
    11    John Bloor           385      Industry             Midlands
    12    David Wilson         360      Construction         Leicestershire
    13    Ray O' Rourke        315      Construction         County Mayo
    14    Jack Tordoff         290      Car Sales            Bradford
    15    David Hood           250      Electronics          Shipley
                                        Property and
    16    Michael Clare        237      retailing            Beaconsfield
    17    John Deer            210      Industry             Wotton-under-Edge
    18    Michael Oglesby      200      Property             Scunthorpe
    19    Peter Dawson         187      Truck rentals        Milton Keynes
                                        Industry and motor
    20    Ron Dennis           177      sports               Woking

To see the full List or to find out more, visit: www.cityandguilds.com/vrl2011 or www.worldskillslondon2011.com/news or www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnM9vnbN6XQ.

Notes to editors
Spokespeople available for interview include:

• Selected members of the City & Guilds Vocational Rich List
• Aidan Jones, Chief Executive of WorldSkills London 2011
• Chris Jones, CEO and Director General of City & Guilds
• Team UK members who will be competing in this year’s event
• Former WorldSkills London 2011 competitors

About the City & Guilds Vocational Rich List

The City & Guilds Vocational Rich List showcases the wealthiest people in the UK who come from a vocational background, having undertaken an Apprenticeship or other practical qualification. The City & Guilds Vocational Rich List is compiled by Philip Beresford, author of the annual Sunday Times Rich List which he has been responsible for since 1989.

This is the seventh edition of the C ity & Guilds Vocational Rich List, updated this year to celebrate WorldSkills London 2011, taking place this October. City & Guilds Vocational Rich List hopes to capture people’s imaginations so they can discover their career aspirations.

About City & Guilds

City & Guilds aims to inspire people to discover their talent and unlock their potential through vocational education and skills training. That’s why it’s proud to be Premier Sponsor of WorldSkills London 2011; the world’s greatest skills competition exhibiting the exceptional talents and ambitions of young people in the UK.

As the UK’s leading vocational education business, a City & Guilds qualification or Apprenticeship opens more doors to a lifelong and successful career, whatever you want to be. Interested in becoming an apprentice? Visit: www.million-extra.co.uk or to find out about more than 500 City & Guilds’ qualifications across 28 industries visit: www.cityandguilds.com.

About WorldSkills London 2011

WorldSkills London 2011 is the world’s largest, international skills Competition where young people from across the globe compete to become the best of the best. At stake: the honour of being the greatest in the world at their chosen skill.
The Competition takes place from 5-8 October 2011 at ExCeL London - bringing together 1,000 young people from more than 50 countries/regions to compete in 46 skill areas from seven sectors:

- Health, Public Services and Care
- Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care
- Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies
- Construction, Planning and the Built Environment
- Information and Communications Technology
- Retail and Commercial Enterprise
- Arts, Media and Publishing

The UK is hosting the WorldSkills Competition for the first time in 22 years and the scale of the event is enormous - ExCeL London has over 90,000m^[2] of space, the equivalent of ten Wembley Stadium pitches.
Every community and business in the UK thrives on skills, enterprise and inspiration. The WorldSkills London 2011 team is working to make sure that the event acts as a catalyst to spark the ambitions not just of competitors but of people across the country. Visitors to the event will discover how skills shape our world, get the chance to Have a Go at a wide range of skills activities, and have an opportunity to talk to a range of experts about future career options and opportunities. To find out more, visit: www.worldskillslondon2011.com

World Skills London 2011 is funded jointly by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and industry partners. The European Social Fund is providing technical assistance funds to support a programme of activity to assist young people from disadvantaged areas to attend WorldSkills London 2011, support the volunteer and exhibitor programme and fund event ‘wrap around’ activities. The European Social Fund in England is investing in jobs and skills - focusing on people who need support the most and helping them fulfil their potential.

About Team UK

Team UK - managed by the National Apprenticeship Service - is made up of 43 competitors aged 18-25 who are currently in training to represent the UK at WorldSkills London 2011. To find out more visit www.worldskillsteamuk.org

Media enquiries

For further information, or to arrange an interview, please call +44(0)20-7429-2829 and ask for Kate Dew or Valerie McBurney. Out of hours media requests can be directed to +44(0)7507-548-893 or +44(0)7545-430-278. press@WorldSkillsLondon2011.com

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