Bentley apprentice speaks at No. 10

The event, organised by the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network, celebrated both individual achievements and the contribution companies like Bentley have made to apprenticeship training. Nick Weir (22) joined Bentley Motors from school as a maintenance technician apprentice in 2003 and was last year awarded both W.O. Bentley Apprentice of the Year and Volkswagen Group Apprentice of the Year. At the Downing Street event he gave a short speech on his experiences as an apprentice to a star-studded audience that not only included the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers Ed Balls MP and John Denham MP, but a number of well known personalities including Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Titchmarsh, both of whom were presented with honorary apprentice awards. Nick described how he had benefited both personally and technically from completing an apprenticeship at Bentley and spoke about the ongoing need for apprentices in business. Reflecting on the evening, he said: “It was a great honour to speak at Downing Street and meet the Prime Minister. I explained the training and development opportunities that my apprenticeship has offered and encouraged other business leaders to consider apprenticeships as the way forward in developing skills. I was one of only two former apprentices from across the country invited to speak so this was a tremendous privilege for me personally and a fantastic opportunity to showcase the apprentice programme at Bentley in Crewe.” Christine Gaskell, Bentley’s Member of the Bentley Board for Personnel and a member the Apprentice Ambassadors Network added: “We are very proud of Nick and all of our associates who complete our apprenticeship scheme and are delighted that Bentley’s commitment to our apprenticeship programme has been recognised by such an influential group of leaders. Bentley is continuing to invest in apprenticeships and training for all our staff as it is essential that we continue to develop people who will be the future of our business. Bentley Motors currently has 46 apprentices following a three or four year apprenticeship across a number of disciplines. The apprenticeship programme is run in conjunction with the training provider Total People Ltd.