Apprenticeships at the council

Apprenticeships - Daniel Mudd - video transcript (PDF, 168.8kb)

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". 

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.

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".

Human resources apprentice Emily Anderson started her apprenticeship with us in September 2018. Currently working towards a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Level 3 qualification, Emily shares some of the opportunities she has had since working for the council.

Emily's primary role is supporting the Organisational Development team within the People and Talent Management sector. One of her most recent projects includes supporting development of our elearning platform, which provides vital digital training for all staff.

Emily says "I had just left sixth form after doing my A-Levels and had planned to go to university even though I wasn't 100% sure. Every day is a new opportunity and something fresh to work with. I have been on countless training courses that the team have ran and helped to organise which means I am learning, working and constantly developing".

As part of Emily's apprenticeship, she attends New College Durham once a week. She has also recently had to opportunity to sign up as an 'Inspire Advocate'; part of our new programme to promote smarter and more agile ways of working. 

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".