A FORMER candidate on The Apprentice is due to talk to Otley College students next week about the value of apprenticeships.

A FORMER candidate on The Apprentice is due to talk to Otley College students next week about the value of apprenticeships.

Claire Young, who was the runner-up in last year's popular BBC series, is visiting Suffolk during National Apprenticeship Week next Wednesdayto explain to students and the business community how important it is to take advantage of opportunities.

Claire said: “I do quite a lot of work with young people because I am still young enough for people to relate to. I did a lots of different work experience, which really helped me. You have got to work hard and make the most of your opportunities.

“If somebody had offered me an apprenticeship when I was young, it would have opened a lot of doors.”

The Apprentice is filmed over a six-week intensive period and sees a group of candidates judged on tasks and then saved or fired by entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar.

Claire worked for Sir Alan alongside fellow finalist Lee McQueen, but it was Lee who finally pipped her to the post.

Claire, who left her highly paid job as a retail buyer for the show and now runs her own consultancy firm, said: “I thought I was destined to be the apprentice. It never entered my head that I would get fired. I was devastated when I was. When I worked for Sir Alan it was a genuine apprenticeship. It was challenging as I was in an IT office and knew nothing about computers.”