I left school with no qualifications. Now I’m a millionaire – here’s how I did it?

If you’re in a class of 40 kids and what’s going on outside the window looks a lot more interesting than what’s inside, it’s easy to get left behind. I sat a few of my GCSE exams but for most of them, I just didn’t bother turning up. It’s something I think about a lot at this time of year, when thousands of young people across the country are eagerly awaiting their results and wondering what comes next. And for anyone who is feeling disappointed or worried after getting their results today, know this: I am living proof that you can leave school with zero qualifications and not let it stop you. Shorts The summer before I left school, my parents could tell things weren’t going well. My dad spoke to a man he knew who ran a business that did building plastering and slating and asked if there were any apprenticeships going. After that, I spent the six weeks’ holidays helping him as a labourer. And finally, I felt like I belonged somewhere and like I could learn something. When I finished school later that year, he offered me a job. He wasn’t interested in my exam results, he cared that I turned up every day and got stuck in. Back then, I just believed it was my fault that I hadn’t done well at school; maybe I just wasn’t smart enough. I didn’t realise that some people just learn better in different ways. And I didn’t realise there were other options. The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is keen for more young people to get apprenticeships and gain technical skills and qualifications, and I couldn’t agree more. Too often, young people find themselves left behind, with no career options and thinking they’re to blame. There needs to be another way. After the building site, I went from buying cars, to buying vans and then buses, to being the largest supplier of minibuses in the UK; someone who owns six businesses here and in America and has been awarded an OBE. I’ve employed a lot of people over the years, in many roles, and never once asked what qualifications someone has. Instead, I ask: what are you bringing to the party? What can you do that no one else can? The government should encourage builders, plasterers, mechanics and all manner of businesses to take on more young people. This could be done with tax incentives and grants. It should be taken into account when granting tenders how many apprenticeships the bidding companies are offering. Schools need to provide more career advice and support. Bring speakers in from all sorts of workplaces and get them to energise the students and explain the different career paths available to them. Parents need to help their children work out what they’re passionate about and how they can harness it. Not everyone is going to be a footballer but if your child loves sport, there are tons of careers that can tap into their passion from personal trainers and physios to the team’s press officer or groundskeeper. And we need to change attitudes about apprenticeships and trade careers, many of which are currently undervalued. Young people need to know that these are crucial skills that are vital to society. And while a robot might soon be able to take over a lot of jobs, we’re a long way from having one that can climb up to retile a roof or rewire a house. Meanwhile, a lot of degrees aren’t worth the paper they’re written on – and it’s getting young people into tens of thousands of pounds of debt that will be hanging on their neck for the rest of their life because they’re being told it’s the only path. Apprenticeships are brilliant. I started on a Youth Training Scheme and got £27 a week and an extra fiver for working Saturdays. But it’s not about the money, it’s about the real life skills you learn on the job. To young people planning their next steps: find something you’re passionate about and lean into what you’re good at. Your ideal job is something you would do even if you weren’t being paid for it. Find someone to work for that you can learn from, look up to and admire. Look at the people around you in the classroom, at home or at work. What attributes do the best people have and how can you learn from them? And what are the worst traits that people have and how can you avoid them? We need to invest in the youth because they are everything. They are the ones who will pay the taxes, who will pay the pensions for older generations, and who will keep the country running by driving trains and buses, and building houses and fixing cars and then educating the next generation. It’s time we let them in on the secret: it’s not all about exams. I’m proof of that.