Earlier this month, Bentley Motors launched its 2018 trainee recruitment campaign, with 86 positions available for apprentices, undergraduates and graduates to start in the autumn.

Apprentice applications opened on 10 February, with undergraduate and graduate opportunities added throughout the month (www.bentleycareers.com).

There are vacancies in sales and marketing, communications, human resources, finance and purchasing, as well as the traditional engineering and manufacturing opportunities.

Commenting on the recruitment drive, Bentley board member Astrid Fontaine said: “Our programmes have been running for more than 40 years, and they each offer a solid foundation for people to build the relevant skills and knowledge that will enable them to grow through their careers.

"There are many opportunities available — in all areas of the business, at different ages and stages of education. We are looking for extraordinary candidates — our experts of tomorrow — who can add to our already highly skilled and passionate workforce.”

Bentley has recently received national recognition for its skills development programmes after being named as a Top Employer for the seventh consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute.

Bentley’s apprenticeship programme (40 positions are available) offers a means of gaining recognised qualifications while undertaking key training at the firm for three or four years, depending on which area the apprentice is working in.

Meg Aucott, Bentley’s Apprentice of the Year in 2017 and now an engineer at Bentley, said: “I would strongly recommend an apprenticeship; it allowed me to pursue my technical, academic and personal development goals in
a structured way.

"I gained a lot of knowledge and experience over the four-year programme, and I look forward to putting this into practice, as my career with Bentley develops.”

The graduate scheme (with14 vacancies) is a two-year development programme, where recruits are given the opportunity to work on business projects in a specific department or across a number of functions.

There are 32 places in the undergraduate scheme, which is a 12-month programme for undergraduates looking to spend a year in industry as partof their degree studies.