It’s National Apprenticeship Week – the 16th annual week of celebrating apprentices and the positive impact apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses, and the wider economy.
Recognising the benefits of offering entry level roles that engages the organisation in fostering talent of the future, Norwich City Council has made it a priority to increase the opportunities for apprenticeships to support people develop skills within a local government setting.
Of the 18 apprentices employed since 2018, nine are current placements and we are currently looking for our next two recruits – with an opening in our IT team, and another within the information governance team.
Councillor Alan Waters, leader of Norwich City Council said:
“We are very pleased with progress in expanding our apprenticeship programme at city hall, offering apprenticeships for both younger people joining the council at the start of their career as well as established members of staff who want to take the opportunity to retrain in another area.
“The contribution of our apprentices has been really valuable, and that is why any changes to the organisation will now automatically include apprenticeship opportunities. This includes our wholly owned companies, Norwich City Services Ltd and Norwich Regeneration Limited.”
Two of our current apprentices are Lisa Zoylinos and Sam Adam.
Lisa is fast approaching the end of her Customer Service Specialist level 3, and Sam Adam is completing her Assistant Accountant level 3 course.
Both have young children, so identify flexible study options, which can fit around other responsibilities, as benefits.
When asked how they are finding their apprenticeships, both describe the positives of having the tandem experience of study alongside hands-on work.
Lisa said, that while she had worked in customer service roles for a long time, she was really enjoying taking a different analytical look: “really studying the ins and outs, thinking about different customer bases, how you approach individual situations differently, the range of leadership styles involved.”
Sam cited an example of having studied a module – going through the theory, but then being able to apply the lesson practically in the office environment, as a strength of the apprenticeship approach. Sam said:
“I really enjoy the variety. It's nice to have the days where you're working and you're in the office environment and you're learning things practically; and then the study just takes you out of that and makes you look at things from a different angle. I really like that combination.”
Our current apprentice offer
We are currently looking to recruit a software development technician apprentice and an information governance apprentice. Both are 18-month courses with a salary band of £21,189-£21,575. The deadlines for applications are Friday 17 February and Monday 20 February. For more and to apply, visit the ‘Apprenticeships’ section of our jobs-site.
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