UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00.01 TUESDAY 3 JULY 2007

As Gordon Brown shrugs off his long political apprenticeship, the latest research from City & Guilds reveals that his fellow countrymen also have an extremely profitable track record when it comes to ‘learning on the job’.

Almost a quarter of the names featured on the awarding body’s Vocational Rich List have a Scottish heritage – the highest proportion since the annual index was first published five years ago. 

The rankings track the fortunes of businessmen and women who started their career with a vocational qualification or training course, who have then used their background as a springboard to greater success.

In 2003 only five Scottish-born entrepreneurs had a self-made fortune of more than £10 million - by 2007 14 people easily passed that milestone, sharing between them a collective pot worth £1.26 billion.

Whilst some of the figures will be familiar – for example, Sir Alex Ferguson and Gordon Ramsay - the wealthiest entrepreneur Jim McColl is less of a household name.  However, the Carmunnock-born engineer has an impressive personal fortune: £435 million made from Clyde Blowers, an engineering and chimney-sweeping business.

Despite this new tartan takeover, the Vocational Rich List reveals a wealth of millionaires from right across the UK – all of whom have made a substantial return on investment since the first City & Guilds list.

• Over the last five years the 25 wealthiest ‘Rich Listers’ have tripled their fortunes - from £2.7bn to £9.3bn.

• On average these 25 each have £372 million banked away in shares, property and other investments.  Compared to the first ever City & Guilds study, these individual fortunes have risen by approximately 250%, a better rate of inflation than the 12% rise in the average UK salary over that five year period. 

• Sixty eight per cent of these gold-plated Rich Listers are still in the same industry they qualified into, illustrating how the hands-on route can lead to a lifetime of success.

Director-General of City & Guilds, Chris Humphries, commented:

“Our experience indicates that vocational millionaires tend to set up locally, pouring investment back into their home towns and cities, which is great news for Scotland and other parts of the UK.

“The List also shows that the rest of the country needs to wake up to the idea of work-related training and the economic benefits it brings - not only to students but also to regional areas.

“At City & Guilds we’re working to change the perception that work-related education is the ‘poor alternative’ to the traditional academic route.  The Vocational Rich List sends out a strong message that it’s possible for people who choose the vocational path to amass personal wealth and, what’s more, to become industry leaders.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

Scottish Vocational Rich List below – further biographical details and the UK top 25 see www.cityandguilds.com/richlist

For more information, please call Jenna Frost/Lotte Jones/Carolyn Walker on 020 7260 2700, or e-mail cityandguilds@bluerubicon.com

About the Vocational Rich List
The Vocational Rich List, published by City & Guilds for the last five years, offers an insight into the shifting fortunes of the country’s wealthiest entrepreneurs.  Created in conjunction with Phillip Beresford, author of the Sunday Times Rich List, it follows the personal fortunes of people who began their journey with vocational learning/qualifications.

What is a vocational education?
Vocational qualifications are all about work-related training. In other words, learning about something which will give people the information and knowledge they need to do the job. Examples include specific qualifications, such as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) or Vocational Related Qualifications (VRQs), or apprenticeships.

About City & Guilds
City & Guilds is the expert and leading authority in vocational education and training - both in the UK and beyond.
In operation for the last 130 years, City & Guilds is the UK’s leading awarding body for work-related qualifications.  Twenty million people in the UK have City & Guilds qualifications, and the organisation awards a further 1.5 million qualifications to learners every year.
City & Guilds also enables people to develop essential leadership and management skills through its Institute of Leadership and Management, which is the largest provider of management qualifications in Europe.
City & Guilds creates prosperity from skills for individuals, business and nations within and beyond the workplace.