Lord Alan Sugar has called for workers to return to the office, emphasising the importance of in-person interaction for learning and development.

The Apprentice star and businessman, who has estimated personal wealth of more than £1bn, joined the debate over remote working, insisting office attendance is the best way to achieve professional progression.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast to mark the launch of series 19 of the show, he said: “They’ve got to get their bums back into the office.”

The 77-year-old, who owns offices in London, expressed concern that many young people “just want to sit at home”, adding, “I’m a great advocate of getting them back to work, because the only way an apprentice is going to learn is from his colleagues”.

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He highlighted the value of small interactions with more experienced colleagues, which he believes are lacking in the current work-from-home, Zoom culture.

Lord Sugar’s comments came after Lord Stuart Rose, former boss of Marks & Spencer and Asda, described working from home as “not proper work”.

In a BBC Panorama documentary, Should we still be working from home?, Rose suggested that home working was damaging productivity and formed part of the UK economy’s “general decline”.

Many big employers, such as Boots, JP Morgan, Barclays Bank and Amazon, have recently increased pressure on staff to attend the workplace more frequently. Earlier this month, advertising giant WPP demanded that employees return to the office for a minimum of four days a week from April.

While Lord Sugar acknowledged exceptions for software writers and the physically disabled, he emphasised the advantages of being present in the office, especially for those starting their careers.

He also criticised the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in job applications, calling it “a bit cheating”.

“If you’re going to use it to write your CV and big yourself up, then that’s wrong, isn’t it?” he said.

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