Conservative Council to Celebrate Apprenticeship Successes

Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council is celebrating the successes of its 428 apprentices and its highly successful apprenticeship scheme, which has seen it, ranked in the top 100 companies in the country for the second year running.

2012 was a good year with over 72 young people starting an apprenticeship with the Council, with plans to take on a further 80 in 2013.  Staffordshire as a county is also making great headway on recruiting apprentices with over 13,561 apprentices working in a wide range of roles, which is 41% higher than 3 years ago.

To recognise and celebrate the achievements of the county’s apprentices, 2 special Recognition Awards Ceremonies will be held in March.  The Awards are being supported by the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and nominations are now being accepted, with employers being encouraged to put their best apprentices forward.  Nomination forms are available from chris.bamsey@staffordshire.gov.uk the closing date is the 8th February 2013.

Staffordshire County Councillor, Ben Adams, Deputy Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Cabinet Member for Employment and Skills said, “2012 has been another exceptional year for our apprentices and our apprenticeship programme, which has provided even more opportunities to young people this year.

“A further indicator of our success is making it into the top 100 companies in England for the second year running which we are extremely proud of.  The training and placing of apprentices is one of our top priorities as a Council, and is a vital part of our strategy to bring growth and prosperity to Staffordshire.

“I’m very encouraged with the number of apprentices working in many sectors in the county which now stands at just less than 14,000.  As well as developing our own programme even further we will also be turning our attention to helping other employers realise the benefits of taking on an apprentice through the recently launched Apprenticeship Helpline, available on 0300 1118002.”

The New Year has got off to a great start with 24 Advanced Apprenticeships and 8 Intermediate apprentices starting in January taking the programmes apprentice numbers to 428.  Placements include, business administration, Teaching Assistants, Chefs, catering staff, ICT technicians and social care assessors.  The programme aims to reach the 500 milestone in 2013.

Further encouraging news for young people on the Council’s apprenticeship programme is that nine out of ten apprentices go on to gain permanent employment with the Council which is a further indicator of the quality of the programme and apprentices coming through.

For more information on Staffordshire County Council’s apprenticeship scheme, please visit www.staffordshireapprentices.org.uk.