Wednesday 16 November 2016

Council apprentice is finalist for Apprentice of the Year

Apprentice Hannah Cydnie, from the Registrations Team, got through to the finals in this year’s Public Service People Managers' Association's Apprentice of the Year 2016.

The last stage took Hannah to a training event at Warwick University where she received coaching and guidance from the judges and facilitators and took part in group activities as well as individual exercises. These exercises and activities formed part of the assessment centre to help determine a winner.

Hannah was recruited as a level 2 apprentice in 2015 and has successfully moved onto a second apprenticeship at level 3. As well as learning how to legally register marriages and supporting citizenship ceremonies, Hannah has been a mentor to a Supported Internship.

Hannah said: “I had an amazing time and it was great to see the other achievements people have made in the local authorities across England. It was a great experience and I am glad I made it to be a finalist for such a great award.”

Monday 7 November 2016

Meet the new apprentices at Brighton & Hove City Council

From left to right: Sam, Daniel, Edwin & Chris
There are four new apprentices at the council!

Chris Bubloz and Edwin Davies-Arai have joined the ICT team and Daniel Pruce and Sam Hitchin are new Finance apprentices.


ICT Apprentices


Chris Bubloz

Age: 24
Apprenticeship: ICT Technician
Qualification: Level 2 ICT Professional Competence

I had done 2 apprenticeships before in my previous job and this sounded like a great opportunity to finally do a job I would actually enjoy to do.

I left college in 2012 with a job in the college canteen where I started learning to be a catering manager. I then moved to Brighton & Hove City Council and became the assistant manager within the kitchen. Whilst working there I then found out about all of the apprenticeships the council provides and when I looked into it I thought this would be the best way to get into the trade that I wanted to be in.

I have only been here a month but I already feel my team has provided  me with everything I need to do the job. I feel confident enough to do many tasks now which I didn’t have a clue about before.

After I've completed my apprenticeship I hope to get a full time roll as an ICT technician.

Edwin Davies-Arai

Age: 22
Apprenticeship: ICT Schools Engineer 
Qualification: Level 2 ICT Professional Competence

I worked for a long time outside the field of ICT but this never drew much enthusiasm from me. I took some time to think about what I wanted to do and eventually came to the idea of working in IT which I had developed an interest in outside of work. As I had no qualifications in IT, just personal experience, an apprenticeship made the most sense as it gave me the chance to develop skills, work in the area and earn qualifications. The preference of work over university came from my disillusionment with the education system. I feel like I take more away from a hands on approach to learning and wanted to learn relevant skills.

After finishing college at Varndean I did a year of Art foundation at City College. I decided against university and instead I worked as a project manager for Somnowell and later their sister company Somnowell Marketing. My apprenticeship with Brighton and Hove City Council came about very quickly, the process from finding the opportunity to the start of work was very smooth.

So far my apprenticeship has helped me gain a greater understanding of various pieces of software and hardware. In the most part to do with school servers and systems.

I hope to continue on to be a full time IT engineer, after I finish my apprenticeship.


Finance Apprentices


Daniel Pruce

Age: 18
Apprenticeship: Finance
Qualification: AAT level 2 

Before I started my apprenticeships I was doing A levels at BHASVIC. I then chose to do an apprenticeship so I could earn money whilst continuing to learn.

It has helped me to put my skills into practice giving me a better understanding of accounting and finance, and I've gained lots of friendly colleagues, who have been really welcoming."

I hope to complete AAT level 3 and 4.

Sam Hitchin

Age: 19
Apprenticeship: Finance
Qualification: Level 2 AAT Accounting

I studied business studies in college where I discovered an interest in finance. I thought the best way to get a finance qualification was to do an apprenticeship as it would give me experience of working within different finance teams and I felt it was the best route to get a qualification with the experience of a workplace.

So far I have gained a lot of experience of the financial systems, working in a team, and a basic understanding for finance and accounting processes through college and the workplace.

I hope to continue with the AAT course at Brighton & Hove City Council in order to build experience and complete all of the accounting course levels.

Thursday 3 November 2016

Nursery Apprentice


Laura completed her apprenticeship with Roundabout Nursery and has stayed on with them as a full time Nursery Assistant.

Name: Laura Clarke
Apprenticeship: Nursery Practitioner Apprentice
Qualification: Level 3 Early Years Educator

I thought I wanted to be a primary school teacher or a counsellor, so I thought if I got an apprenticeship in a nursery it would give me a good starting point to do that. It would help me learn more about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and I would be gaining experience with children at the same time.

My apprenticeship involved learning the daily routine of the nursery, learning children’s names and any important information about them e.g. allergies, any family issues or if other agencies were involved etc. Making sure I knew the fire procedure and looking through the policies and procedures to make sure I understood them.

I had to attend training to make sure I knew about different topics, especially on equality and diversity and safeguarding. I broadened my knowledge on the EYFS and how we can use it within the setting to develop the children’s learning and understanding. I also learnt how to write planned observations on my key children and see how I could use these to help develop their learning, making sure I recorded notes on them and took photographs as evidence to use on target tracker (a system I can log their progress on). I learnt how the key children system worked, how many each staff member were allowed to have and the buddy system.

My apprenticeship also helped me gain confidence and self-belief, realising that I do know what I’m doing and what I’m talking about and believing in myself would help improve my practice.

I chose to stay on at the nursery full time because I loved working at the nursery, I realised that it was such a rewarding job and you really get to know each child and their families, so I decided to stay at the nursery instead of going on to university. Roundabout Nursery is also a lovely place to work; I get on really well with the staff and really feel part of a team here. Everyone was so welcoming when I first started and really helped me broaden my knowledge and they are always continuing to help me improve and grow through support, opportunity and example.


You can apply to be a nNursery Apprentice on the council's website

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Apprentice Teaching Assistant

Name: Holly Ryder

Job Title: Apprentice Teaching Assistant

Qualification: Level 2 Supporting Teaching and Learning

After I finished college I decided I wanted to get into teaching. I didn’t want to go to university because of the fees. I chose to do an apprenticeship so I could start getting experience straight away and also get paid at the same time.

I mainly work with children in year 4 and sometimes year 3 and 5 as well. I support the kids who struggle most with learning. We do fun activities that help them learn the same things the other children are doing, but at a level which is more suitable for them. I also work with some autistic children we have at the school.

During my apprenticeship so far I have gained knowledge of what it’s like working in a school and I have great experience of working with SEN children. It’s really rewarding when you see the pupils achieve something they had found difficult and I love getting to see them grow and succeed.

I hope to stay at Patcham Juniors after I finish my apprenticeship. I would like to try and get my level 3 and eventually I want to become a fully qualified teacher.

I would recommend an apprenticeship to everyone. It’s an amazing opportunity to gain experience, get a qualification and also get paid at the same time. If I’d known I could’ve done an apprenticeship straight after finishing my GCSEs I might have not have even gone to college.