DEPUTY Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, met young employees from Bentley during National Apprentices Week.

The UK’s second in command hosted a reception at Admiralty House in London for apprentices working at Bentley’s world famous Pyms Lane headquarters.

One of the Crewe luxury car manufacturer’s hi-spec Mulsanne models was parked along Whitehall during the soiree on Wednesday, March 13.

Speaking at the event, Crewe Bentley apprentice, Matthew Speck, said: “My apprenticeship has given me skills that I don’t think university would have given me.

“I work within a team in finance. We tackle issues of finance everyday and it’s given me a great insight into what I can be expecting in the future. At the end of my four year apprenticeship I will carry on my career at Bentley.”

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said: “I think in the past people thought that apprenticeships were only something that happened on the factory floor.

“We want it to make it more normal to do an apprenticeship so we value and cherish vocational education just as much as we do academic and higher education.”

“Apprentices not only make an invaluable contribution to their employer, but to the economy as a whole. We’ve seen a record number of businesses clamouring to take on apprentices and that’s because they know what a huge difference the talent and ambition they bring can make.”