A former MG Rover apprentice will embark on his final year of training after workers at Cadbury's agreed to pay his salary from their wages.

Jamie Bright had been in his third year of an advanced engineering apprenticeship at the Longbridge carmaker when the firm collapsed in April.

The 23-year-old had just moved into a new home with his girlfriend when the factory gates closed, leaving thousands of workers redundant.

Next month he will swap cars for chocolate as he begins the final year of his apprenticeship at Cadbury's plant in Bournville.

Members of trade union Amicus have decided to fund his apprenticeship, by donating five per cent of their salaries towards his wages.

Mr Bright, who lives in Castle Bromwich, said: "After Rover closed I went along to a jobs and training event in Cannon Hill Park, where Cadbury's were giving advice to ex-workers.

"I handed them my CV and a few days later I got a call inviting me to go for an interview.

"Actually I was hoping to go to Cadbury's because it's such a big company and there are so many opportunities for me to learn there."

He added: "I feel lucky to even have a job, let alone have the chance to finish my apprenticeship and I am extremely grateful to my colleagues from Amicus who decided to do this."

Cadbury's has taken on five new apprentices and still has one vacancy to fill by next month.

Dave Nelson, the chocolate firm's human resources manager, said four of the posts were funded by Cadbury's while the wages for the remaining two are being paid by Amicus members.

"This is the first time in eight years we've taken on apprentices, and we made that decision while MG Rover was closing down. We wanted to give some of these guys a chance to complete their training.

"Amicus suggested that they fund about 80 per cent of the wages for two apprentices, which their members here are paying for out of their own pockets. However we are still looking for one more maintenance engineer apprentice to start with us next month.

"So if there are any other MG Rover supply chain companies who have got employees struggling to finish their apprenticeship, we may be able to help them."

Kevin Dalamore, who has worked at Cadbury's for 33 years, will be Mr Bright's mentor when he resumes his apprenticeship.

He said while cars and chocolates were very different products, the machinery used to make them was not dissimilar.

"With an apprenticeship you are learning a trade, a skill, so although the end products are poles apart, the technology used in the manufacturing process is very similar. Just as MG Rover use robots to fit components into their engines, we use them to put chocolate boxes or moulds together."

Fred Sherwood, Amicus's senior steward at the factory in Bournville, said: "We're absolutely delighted that our members have chosen to pay for an MG Rover apprentice to have the opportunity to finish his training.

"We, like everyone else, were devastated by the news of MG Rover's closure and our members wanted to do their bit to help those affected."

* Anyone interested in the vacancy for an apprentice maintenance engineer at Cadbury can call Jayne Winslow on 0121 451 4758.