Turning 18 is a significant milestone in any young man’s life. But for Owen Warwick, something even more life-changing happened in the same week as his birthday: he got his first job. And that was the start of a remarkable journey from school sixth form to the Palace of Westminster.

Last summer, Warwick became a parliamentary apprentice. Thanks to the government’s flagship target of creating 3 million apprenticeships by 2020, not to mention the levy being introduced to fund the ambitious expansion of the programme, Warwick has found himself at the centre of government at a time when the profile of apprenticeships has never been higher. And, working in the office of apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon, he could well be the most influential apprentice of all.

“He’s a tough boss,” Warwick jokes, looking at Halfon. “But it’s been a really good experience so far.” As TES speaks with the pair in Halfon’s cramped office in Parliament, which is full of memorabilia from his Harlow constituency, the minister is keen to ensure that the focus stays on his apprentice: “He’s the big man, he’s the big cheese. Not me.”

Since Warwick started his job back in July, he has developed into a “brilliant” employee, Halfon says, explaining that the apprentice has seized his chance to work at the heart of British politics with both hands.

‘Quite an experience’

Warwick spends one day a week at Halfon’s local college, Harlow, working towards a level 3 apprenticeship in business administration. He also spends a day with employer Superior Roofing and Building Services to gain vital experience of the world of business.

The rest of the week he works in Parliament, tackling a range of tasks, from taking Harlow constituents on tours to replying to the hundreds of emails the office receives on a daily basis.

Although Warwick admits that keeping up with the correspondence can be “tedious”, there have been moments that have taken his breath away. “I remember when it was questions to the secretary of defence, Michael Fallon [in the House of Commons],” Warwick recalls. “As he was going up to the chamber, I actually opened the door for him, which was quite an experience. It’s weird how we see them as celebrities and [now I see them] just walking about.

“I actually said hello to the home secretary [Amber Rudd] once because her constituency office is right opposite ours.”

‘Now every MP says they hired the first apprentice. It shows the culture change’

Not surprisingly, given his ministerial brief, Halfon is a passionate supporter of MPs hiring apprentices. And his interest goes back well before he took up ministerial office. Warwick is his fourth apprentice; Halfon is widely believed to have become the first MP to hire an apprentice back in 2010. The claim is disputed - not that the minister is too concerned.

“What I love now is that every MP says that they hired the first apprentice full-time in Parliament,” he says. “And actually I don’t mind that at all because it shows the culture [change], the fact that MPs want to say this. There [has been a] real culture change in the last five years.”

In terms of numbers, however, progress has been modest. In 2013, a survey for TES found that, out of 650 MPs, only around 20 had an apprentice. Today, according to the Department for Education, there are 26 apprentices working in MPs’ offices. And the Parliamentary Academy - the Palace of Westminster’s first apprentice school - has been wound down considerably over the past 18 months owing to a lack of funding (see box, below).

But Halfon is confident that the number of apprentices working in Parliament will, inevitably, rise. “Every apprentice I’ve ever met here who’s worked for an MP has been outstanding and has gone on to great things,” he says. “So I think we’re not yet at a tipping point, but we’re on the way to the tipping point.”

@tesfenews