It’s National Apprenticeship Week (5 Feb - 11 Feb 2024) and West Lindsey District Council is proud to say it supports this great route into employment and training.
The Council currently has a number of staff on apprenticeships in a number of work areas including systems development, business and projects, housing support and planning. Last year, Abbie Beastall, who is working on our Change, Performance and Programme Management Team, won the Government and Public Service Apprentice Champion Award 2023. These awards, which are run in Greater Lincolnshire are now open for nominations for the 2024 awards.
Cllr Lesley Rollings, Chair of the Prosperous Communities Committee at West Lindsey District Council is a strong believer in opportunities that improve employment and skills. She said:
“Apprenticeships hold real value in the workplace and provide a great opportunity for people to earn while they learn.
“This route into employment offers great benefits to both the employer and employee, and I would urge anyone to seriously consider apprenticeships as part of their career options. I am pleased to see we have a number of apprentices at the Council in a variety of job roles as we believe nurturing talent is a key to success.”
An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee can learn and gain valuable experience while working in an area of employment of interest to them. Alongside on-the-job training, apprentices spend around 20% of their working hours completing classroom-based learning with a college, university or training provider, which leads to a nationally recognised qualification.
The council has a long history of offering apprenticeships and takes on apprentices each year. Abbie who was Highly Commended in the Government and Public Service Apprentice Champion awards last year, has demonstrated the apprentice route has been the perfect choice for her career.
“The training and qualifications I have gained were so broad that I have been able to use them in any role here at the council. I’m certainly glad I went down this route.”
Nominations can be made for this year’s Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Champion Awards 2024. These awards recognise the successes of apprentices working across the county, as well as employers and training providers, and this year for the first time, applications are being accepted from the North and North Lincolnshire areas, as well as the county area of Lincolnshire.
Training providers and employers who want to showcase how their apprenticeship programme have been supportive, innovative or flexible in helping apprentices, can also apply.
The Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Champion Awards are run in partnership between the Public Service Compact group, local councils and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP).
The three categories for entries are:
- Greater Lincolnshire Apprentice Champion 2024
- Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2024
- Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Training Provider Champion 2024
Award winners will need to demonstrate commitment, excellence in skills development and a clear drive to support success and growth. There are several online workshops being held over the next month to support those looking to apply.
To celebrate those short-listed for the awards and to announce the winners an special awards event will be held in May 2024.
- Further information on how to apply, and the application forms can be found at Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Awards The awards are open for applications now and will close at 9am on Monday 11 March 2024.
- You can find out more about apprenticeships by visiting the Government’s dedicated apprenticeship website.