Henry Ford – Apprentice Machinist
Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He left home at 16 after becoming disillusioned with the thought of running the family farm. Ford gained his knowledge of machinery by working as an apprentice machinist in Detroit. Plans were developed not long after for a “horseless carriage” which became the first car, the Ford Quadricycle.
He introduced the Ford Model T in 1906, the first car that was widely available and affordable. One of his biggest achievements was developing the moving assembly line, which revolutionised the manufacturing process, and became the benchmark for mass production.
Leonardo Da Vinci – Apprentice Painter
Leonardo is one of the most famous artists that has ever lived, with his painting, the Mona Lisa, being the one most universally recognised. He got his start as an apprentice in Florence at the age of 14. His time in the studio nurtured his creativity, which covered areas of interest including drawing, painting, sculpture, invention, maths, science, music, engineering and more. He went on to create several masterpieces, from The Last Supper and his Vitruvian Man to producing conceptual ideas for flying machines, solar power, and an early calculator.
Vincent Van Gough – Apprentice Art Dealer
Another famous painter who was an apprentice for an art dealer with a group called Goupil and Cie.
Ozzy Osbourne – Apprentice Plumber
Prior to becoming the frontman of one of the world's biggest ever rock bands, Birmingham's very own Ozzy Osbourne was an apprentice plumber.
Michael Caine – Apprentice Plumber
It turns out Ozzy Osbourne wasn't the only celebrity that's fully equipped with skills to fix a burst pipe.
The award winning actor, author and producer Sir Michael Caine also spent two years training as a plumber after returning to the country following National Service in the Korean War.
Clearly plumbing wasn't his passion as he went on to star in a range of films including Austin Powers, The Italian Job, The Dark Knight, Zulu and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Billy Connolly – Welding Apprentice
In the 1960’s, after leaving school at the age of 15, Billy Connolly completed a welding apprenticeship at a Scottish shipyard. He worked there until, in the 1970’s he decided to pursue his career in comedy.
Gordon Ramsay – Apprentice Chef
Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay trained under Marco Pierre White at his London-based restaurant Harveys.
They didn’t always get on and frequently disagreed but, despite their differences, Gordon has always credited Marco for the training him. Gordon now runs his own apprenticeship scheme in partnership with the University of West London.
Elvis Presley – apprentice Electrician
To millions across the world, Elvis Presley is known as the King of Rock and Roll whose music inspired generations.
But, before he had fans dancing to the Jailhouse Rock, the King was spending his time training to become an electrician.
Laurence Graff OBE – Apprentice Jeweller
At the age of 15, Laurence left school and became an Apprentice Jeweller in London. After his Apprenticeship, he went into partnership with another Jeweller, and together they repaired rings and created small pieces of jewellery. However, that shop went out of business. Laurence used the skills he had learnt as an apprentice and went on to sell his jewellery designs independently to jewellers all over England. This was a real turning point in his career, as in 1960 he founded Graff Diamonds and by 1962 he had two jewellery shops; one of which was in the centre of London’s jewellery trade, Hatton Garden. His net-worth is currently approx. £5.6 BILLION!
Karren Brady– Advertising Apprentice
Most of us will know Karen Brady as one of Lord Sugar’s assistants. Karren left school with 4 A-Levels but didn’t go down the University route that was expected of her, instead becoming an Advertising Apprentice at Saatchi & Saatchi. A year later, she had progressed to become an Advertising Accounts Executive. She was then offered a job with Sport Newspapers and became Director at the age of 20. Her career has only gone up from there and Karren currently has a net worth of over £85 million.
