Council's commitment to apprenticeships goes from strength to strength
"The apprenticeship was definitely right for me. It has given me so many possible opportunities for the future"
Warwickshire County Council's commitment to apprenticeships remains as strong as ever with the number of apprentices recruited by the authority since 2012 now past 200.
The council is on target to reach its aim of 50 apprentices recruited within this financial year. Among services to benefit most from the apprenticeship talent stream is Children's Social Care whose vital and complex work has been supported since the summer by the recruitment of nine apprentices in Atherstone, Nuneaton, Rugby and Warwick.
Calvin Smith, the council's Children's Safeguarding and Support Manager, said: "Our social care apprentices have brought a broad range of skills on which we are now building as they receive training. They are making a real difference to the lives of our service-users.
"Apprenticeships work really well for us as they give young people a chance to experience exactly what the job entails and find out whether they want to make it a career.
"Our previous round of apprentices were excellent. We offered jobs to three, two of whom actually sat on the interview-panel for the latest round - and were the most challenging interviewers of all!"
Zoe Shephard recently joined the Children's Social Care team full-time following an apprenticeship which she believes provided a perfect career-pathway.
"Completing the apprenticeship expanded my knowledge about social work and my outlook on different situations," said Zoe. "It also made me want to complete the social work degree in the near future.
"The apprenticeship was definitely right for me. It has given me so many possible opportunities for the future and I am really looking forward to progressing my role with Warwickshire County Council."
Zoe is one of many whose apprenticeships across Warwickshire County Council have led to a positive destination. Of those who completed their apprenticeships at the council, 75% have been retained while almost 96% either were retained, found work elsewhere, went into further education or left to go travelling.
Dan Nash, Warwickshire County Council's Apprenticeship Hub manager, said: "Children's Social Care is a great example of how apprenticeships can work perfectly for both apprentice and employee. Talented young people receive a strong launchpad to their career while benefiting their employer and the wider community.
"The council continues to invest in skills in that crucial area and has also recruited six care-leavers to apprenticeships, underlining our commitment to also supporting care-leavers with employment opportunities."
Warwickshire County Council's strength in supporting apprentices is renowned. Last year the council was one of only three local authorities named among the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the UK.
"To have recruited 200 apprentices since 2012 shows the council's ongoing commitment to apprenticeships," added Mr Nash. "It's brilliant that we can offer such a diverse range of apprenticeship opportunities across our service areas, from accountancy to forestry, highway engineering to social care and customer service to vehicle maintenance.
"We offer a range of levels of apprenticeships, starting at Level 2 entry points for GCSE leavers and going right up to HNC equivalent qualifications in areas such as HR Management and Project Management."
* For more information on apprenticeships in Warwickshire please visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/apprenticeships.