Alum Rock-raised Safaraz Ali honoured for two decades of championing apprenticeships and social mobility

A Birmingham businessman has been awarded an MBE from the Princess Royal to recognise his services to diversity and inclusion in business.

Safaraz Ali, born and raised in Alum Rock, has spent 24 years building organisations focused on skills, employability, care and social impact. 

Over the past decade, much of that work has centred on apprenticeships and social mobility across the West Midlands and beyond.

Ali founded both the Multicultural Apprenticeship and Skills Alliance and the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards, which have become nationally recognised platforms for celebrating diverse talent and challenging perceptions about who apprenticeships are for.

Reframing apprenticeships

Central to his mission has been a drive to reframe apprenticeships as high-value career pathways rather than last-resort options. 

Through the Alliance and Awards, he has brought together employers, training providers and community leaders to widen access and raise aspirations.

Ali said: “It was a real privilege to receive my MBE and a moment I will never forget. Meeting The Princess Royal made the occasion even more special.”

Roots and responsibility

Ali credited his upbringing in Birmingham for instilling the values that shaped his leadership. His father worked at IMI in Witton. This, Ali said, informed his commitment to working communities.

“This recognition strengthens my sense of responsibility,” Ali said. 

“It reinforces why the work around skills, social mobility and inclusive leadership matters, and why it is important to keep pushing for better outcomes.”