My priority is getting young people into jobs...I believe that work is good for you

Pat McFadden's parents taught him the meaning of hard work. And now, as the Work and Pensions Secretary, he sees it as his mission to rescue Britain's youth from a life on benefits

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His journey from Holyrood Secondary School on the south side of Glasgow to the Cabinet table is proof of his personal ambition, and he has no doubt what he wants to achieve in his new job.

"My top priority is to get young people into work," he says.

"We've got almost a million people who are not in education, employment or training.

"And the last thing I want to see is young people graduating from school onto benefits."

He is excited at the expansion of "youth hubs", where young people receive help with interview and CV preparation.

A new partnership with the Premier League is being rolled out to get youths into the hubs to ensure opportunities for work and training are not missed.

"They don't always want to come into the Jobcentre, so we'll bring the Jobcentre to them," he explains, adding: "The last thing we want is kids full of promise becoming adults full of frustration because they are on the dole."

His own ambitions sent him east to study politics in Edinburgh.

Sitting in his large office at the Department for Work and Pensions, he remembers this time clearly: "I felt a bit like a fish out of water when I arrived at Edinburgh University, to be honest.

There were a lot of people from wealthier backgrounds than I had.