Apprenticeships at the council

Before starting his apprenticeship with the council Josh had had various temporary roles including casual work at Washington and Freeman's Quay Leisure Centres. He also worked with young people from other countries teaching them English.

Josh decided that rather than go to university an apprenticeship would suit his career goals best and looked at the local opportunities available. He was particularly impressed with council's apprenticeship programme and the range of apprenticeships available so applied for several posts and was appointed as an apprentice accountancy technician.

Josh started his three year apprenticeship in September 2019, based at County Hall, and is studying AAT qualifications on day release at New College Durham. As he lives locally, Josh can walk or cycle to work and college.

Josh said, 'I'm excited to start my career in accountancy and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and receiving a regular wage'.

Twenty-three your old Daniel Stoddart joined the council in 2019 as a system support apprentice studying a NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration.

He had just finished a bachelor's degree in computing with networking at New College Durham, which included an internship in Malta for three months. 

Daniel said, 'I had already completed a degree and felt that an apprenticeship, while helping improve my CV, would also help me experience a proper work environment and get used to what it is like and what is expected of me when actually having a job. It was kind of a way to put my foot through the door in the IT sector'.

His apprenticeship involved on the job training and weekly half day sessions with a tutor. Daniel said, 'I enjoyed the job role I was undertaking, it felt very much like I was a full-time employee which is what I wanted, it gave me a real sense of what was expected of me. Everyone was extremely helpful when I needed assistance and I felt like I belonged in the team'.

Daniel has recently completed his apprenticeship and has been appointed as a CRM System Support Officer. He said, 'I'm doing a lot of the same things I did when I was an apprentice but with more responsibilities. I am responsible for creating new online projects for the various service areas within the council and maintaining the online services currently in place. We basically function around the council's DoItOnline service'.

Daniel is really enjoying his job and looking forward to a career in IT!

20-year-old Jade Ray, a catering apprentice from Consett, sees her apprenticeship as a chance to learn skills that will prepare her for a future career in the catering industry.

Jade carried out work experience with us and found out about the apprentice opportunities, applied online and was offered an apprenticeship.

Jade splits her week between County Hall canteen and Wharton Park cafe, while attending Derwentside College for practical and theory-based learning. Jade regularly works with the head chef learning hands on skills including food preparation, cash handling, food hygiene and hospitality. At the end of Jade's apprenticeship, she will be fully qualified as a level 2 commis chef.

Jade said "Apprenticeships provide you with the opportunity for you to learn something you enjoy. I've always been interested in cooking and my apprenticeship gives me the chance to work alongside experienced people. I hope this will help me pursue a career in catering". 

Gemma Rodgerson

32-year-old apprentice Gemma Rodgerson started a civil engineering apprenticeship in September 2018.

Gemma combines one day a week studying at Teesside University with 4 days working 'on the job' in our traffic assets team, looking after things like street signs, traffic calming measures and speed limits. Not only has she found the job rewarding, she also enjoys the idea of being able to get out and about, while learning about how we keep everything running behind the scenes.

Gemma says 'My life is completely different since starting as a DCC Apprentice! I had been a stay-at-home mum for over five years so coming to work full time was a huge change. The opportunities I've had in terms of education and in the workplace are amazing; the Civil Engineering degree has been challenging but I'm enjoying it so much, and I couldn't ask for a better team to be working with'.

Gemma applied for a Quest Scholarship with the Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) and following an interview was awarded a scholarship. Gemma says 'Financially it took a lot of pressure off and long term, I think it'll be absolutely fantastic to have on my CV as well as it being a starting point towards professional accreditation with the ICE'.

In January 2019, Gemma was appointed to a permanent post with us and she is continuing to develop her technical skills within the traffic assets team and taking on more responsibility for the projects she works on.

Ross Preston

Before joining the council as a Civil Engineering apprentice, Ross was studying civil engineering part time and also working part time.

An apprentice with the council means Ross is now receiving a full time wage whilst continuing his studies by attending Teesside University on day release.

The degree course will take six years to complete but Ross isn't daunted by this. He said, 'I'm looking forward to gaining practical on the job training and developing my skills whilst studying for a formal qualification'.

Reece Bowden is an apprentice Corporate Fraud Investigator for the council whose work focuses mainly on audits.  

Reece began his three year apprenticeship in September 2018 and is studying AAT qualifications to Level 4.

Reece was looking for an apprenticeship opportunity and liked the sound of the job description and thought it would be interesting He was aware of the excellent support and guidance available for council apprentices as well as the council pension scheme so applied for the post.

Reece and his manager are assigned a number of audits to complete each year. Each one is completely different and cover a broad range of services including Treasury Management and the Pension Fund. He has also assisted in the verification of grants for projects. His day to day role includes meeting with clients to discuss queries, conducting fieldwork and drafting documents to submit for review.

Reece said, 'I'm enjoying my apprenticeship with the council and would encourage anyone thinking of applying for an apprenticeship to go for it!'

Working in Corporate Finance in London for eight years, Claire Roberts relocated back to her roots in County Durham and was successful in being appointed as an Assistant Ranger apprentice for the council.

Claire, who will be based in the council's Countryside Team, will combine hands-on work experience with studying for a Diploma in Environmental Conservation during block-release in Askham Bryan College in York.

Claire said: "The apprenticeship is the perfect combination of on-the-job training and academic study allowing me to gain skills appropriate to my new career path. I'm incredibly passionate about the environment as well as being very proud of where I come from so I can't wait to learn more about how our beautiful countryside is managed. Until I saw the apprentice post advertised, I hadn't realised that there was no upper age limit on applying for an apprenticeship."

Thomas Metcalfe is an apprentice Countryside Ranger. Before his apprenticeship Tom didn't know what he wanted to do and started volunteering for the Durham County Council at Killhope Lead Mining Museum.

The apprenticeship vacancy was advertised, and Tom's volunteering experience meant he had relevant experience so applied for the post and was appointed.

Tom said, 'I've enjoyed being an apprentice assistant ranger for the Durham County Council because it gives me an opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills. I work at Wharton Park and Hardwick park which are two fantastic parks. Being an apprentice has changed my life completely and I would like to continue to work for the Durham County Council and for the Countryside Services for as long as possible."

Financial management apprentice Joshua Bayne tells us what is involved and the opportunities he has had since his apprenticeship with us began in September 2018.

Based at County Hall, Joshua's day to day work includes checking budgets and transferring financial charges for our services. In addition to his office duties, he is currently completing a three-year course at New College Durham which will allow him to complete his AAT level 2 and level 3 qualification.

Joshua has had the opportunity to learn with specialist software and attends budget meetings with colleagues as part of his role, receiving first-hand training that is key for his future in Financial Management.

Joshua says "I think my apprenticeship is shaping my future as it is giving me the qualifications that I need for my chosen career and I am also gaining key skills and knowledge whilst on the job. I am aware of the number of job opportunities that are available within the council for when the time comes and when I am qualified I will be able to apply for these jobs".

When asked what he enjoys most about his apprenticeship, Joshua said "I enjoy learning about all the different systems that we use and seeing first hand where the money goes when I have to move it between services or transfer costs between services".

Charlotte Robson is an Apprentice Corporate Fraud Investigator in our Corporate Fraud Team.

She started her three year apprenticeship in September 2018, studying for a Level 4 AAT qualification on day release at New College Durham.

Originally, Charlotte was studying at sixth form and always thought university was for her. However, after reading more about apprenticeships and seeing the post at the council, she knew it would suit her with the hands-on aspect and learning on the job.

Charlotte said, 'Long term I believe an apprenticeship will prove more beneficial. I appreciate the opportunities that working for Durham County Council brings and the investment the business makes in its employees.

'My role is exciting and challenging and allows me to assist in protecting the public purse and also be involved in our awareness raising campaign to fight against fraud.

'Part of my role involves carrying out and supporting the team with investigations, to prevent and detect fraud against the council. Every day is different, and I am really enjoying my opportunity being part of the Corporate Fraud Team.

 The Apprentice Corporate Fraud Investigator role has also given me some amazing experiences, I have attended a CIPFA Introduction to Audit course and an awards evening for Excellence in Counter Fraud and this has helped me develop new skills and qualities that I will be able to use throughout my career'.

Charlotte is hoping to secure a permanent job at the end of her apprenticeship to continue her career with Durham County Council.

Apprentice Liam Robson is working in a local school coordinating and delivering school sport and motivating children to perform to the very best of their abilities.

As part of his L3 Supporting physical education in Schools apprenticeship Liam spends 4 days in a school and 1 day in college learning the skills needed to plan, deliver, assess and evaluate out-of-school activities, lunchtime and playtime activities and curriculum physical education/physical activity.

Since beginning his apprenticeship Liam has taken part in lots of useful training including first aid, safeguarding and restorative approaches to behaviour management.

Liam has set up sports competitions and activities that run during breaktimes and supported staff on school trips and residential visits. He assists in training pupils for sporting events and supports children in class with their learning.

Liam said, 'My dream job is to work with children and maybe go into teaching. An apprenticeship seemed like the ideal starting point".

Apprentice Connor Thompson works at the Gala Theatre, providing technical support for a variety of events. He has a passion for theatre and has had a lot of great opportunities since his apprenticeship began in July 2018.

Connor's supports the operation of the stage's lighting and sound, generally working with the stage crew as a supporting member of the team. In addition to his work at Gala, he trains at the Sage Gateshead twice a month. Here, he learns knowledge and background of the theatre industry.

Connor believes one of the biggest skills he has learnt so far is effective communication; Learning how to adapt to working with a large team of people and interacting with a variety of people at different shows and other corporate events, both indoor and outdoor. 

Connor says "I get to interact with people in the industry and have already worked with numerous companies and individuals. Once the apprenticeship is over I will have done countless different jobs and will have worked alongside enough people to open future job opportunities".