Jason Holt has announced his intention to step down as chair of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network after over 3 years in post. 

In a letter to ambassadors, he said it was the network’s work in nurturing apprentices that had taught him the importance of “learning, contributing and then taking that knowledge to another, connected space  - and I remain committed to our cause and hope to continue contributing in some other way”. 

The network had been connected through ambassador’s stories, he said. “And through our stories, it was possible to harness the energy to do something profoundly useful: to make taking an apprentice second nature to the ordinary course of life - even during Covid!”

Mr Holt was appointed by then apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton in March 2018. He had previously been the apprenticeship ambassador for small businesses - and has advised the government on apprenticeship policy.

He is chief executive of the Holts Group of Companies. Having worked as a solicitor, he joined his father’s business over 20 years ago as an apprentice, and the business has trained and employed dozens of apprentices since. 

“Dad was my inspiration, and as he was 75 when I joined his business, I knew I had limited time to learn from him,” Mr Holt said in his letter. “During my apprenticeship, I learned so much about myself, about loyalty to those who support you, about kindness and about the imperative of always trying to do the right thing. Finally, I also learned the importance of training. Dad would often say, “…Training was about learning to do a good job well.” 

Under his leadership, the AAN supported Tes in running the #InspiringApprenticeship campaign to raise awareness of the routes apprenticeships can provide. It highlighted dozens of individual apprentice stories.