Laura is joined by Gillian Keegan, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills in the Department for Education and MP for Chichester. It was through a chance encounter that Gillian embarked on the route of becoming a Member of Parliament and she talks about the very special person who was pivotal in that change in career – and of many other female Conservative MPs for that matter!

They also discuss the importance of skills and lifelong learning. Gillian is well known for being the first apprentice to become Minister for Apprenticeships, but what most people don’t realise is that she is also a Sloan Fellow from the London Business School.

They touch on the influence Liverpool and Madrid have had on her thinking, as well as her grandfather’s miner’s lamp, and the importance of skills in the economic recovery.

You can follow Gillian and Laura on Twitter on @GillianKeegan and @LauraRound