Our registrar apprentices

Paul Wadsworth (left), Terri Challis (centre)  Hannah Cydnie (right)

Registrations Service have recently employed their second apprentice as their first moves onto new adventures. 

Apprenticeships are work-based training programmes leading to a nationally recognised qualification for the apprentice to help their own career development.

Paul Wadsworth, Registration Officer says, “Employing a young Apprentice lifted the spirits of the whole service. The staff wanted to help, support and watch the young person grow as a  professional and as a person. Terri Challis, our first Apprentice said “The programme allowed me to gain workplace experience and personal confidence. It also gave me the time to make positive choices about my future with a clear direction and purpose.”  After working within the service as a registrar over the summer Terri is off to study English Language and Linguistics at The University of  Roehampton.  

Hannah Cydnie is the councils new registrar apprentice studying towards Level 2 in Customer Services. Hannah says, “I am really enjoying my apprenticeship at the Register Office. Everyone is very supportive at work especially Terri. She helped me when I started and continued until she left. She helped me learn the job and helped me with college work. She was a brilliant member of the team and a great mentor to me. I am now an apprentice ambassador. I wanted to do this role to tell other people about apprenticeships and give them advice. I have spoken at events at Varndean College and the Job Centre. I enjoy being an ambassador to share my experience and information about apprenticeships”.

Varndean College, year 12 ‘Moving on day’

Hannah, Jamie and Rachel

Ambassdors Jamie and Rachel, along with new ambassador Hannah, went to Varndean College to run two sessions on Apprenticeships for first year students.

The ambassadors started the sessions by sharing their personal experiences and explained some of the basics about apprenticeships, how to apply for them online as well as an interactive true or false quiz aimed at busting some of the myths surrounding apprenticeships. 

They also got the students invoved by sitting down with them in groups to discus their career goals and answer any queries.

New apprentice ambassador, Hannah Cydnie, said: "I found the experience great and to see how many young people are interested in apprenticeships is brilliant. I am looking forward to doing more events to spread the word on apprenticeships and give people more knowledge about them.”

Meet the new Apprentice Ambassadors

The apprentice ambassadors have re-launched this year with new recruits and are gearing up to visit the Job Centre, schools and colleges across the city.                                                            

The new apprentices have joined the existing team, making total of seven ambassadors, all of which are apprentices at Brighton & Hove City Council, covering a range of different sectors from the Register Office, Adult Social Care to Media and Communications and are all undertaking a nationally recognised qualification from level 2, advanced level 3 to higher level 5.

Since starting in June 2014, the ambassadors have reached 1,705 young people and 200 parents across Brighton & Hove.

The ambassadors were brought together by Brighton & Hove City Education and Inclusion department, to promote the importance and availability of apprenticeships to young people and parents/carers, giving them the chance to find out about other career options. 

Councillor Tom Bewick, Chair of Children, Young People & Skills Committee, said: “One of the biggest difficulties for young people is getting their foot in the door entering the job market for the first time and break the cycle of no experience.

“The apprentice ambassadors are not only representing themselves but the council and it is extremely important that we continue to provide this resource to young people across the city to create the awareness of other opportunities that are available to them.”

Kelly Butler, former Human Resourses Apprentice and Ambassador, said: “I have secured myself a full-time job with Human Resourses Workforce Development team as an Administrator at Brighton & Hove City Council.

“Being an Apprentice Ambassador was a great experience and helped me to develop new skills which then led to permanent employment at the council. Being an apprentice ambassador was definitely a contributing factor to getting the job as I gained such valuable experience, knowledge and skills from being part of the team.”

ENDS 

Apprentice matching event - 2 July 2015

Apprenticeship matching is a chance for you to meet with employers and training providers offering Apprenticeship vacancies in Brighton & Hove. 

These matching events are held at town centre venues on a regular basis. Each event can host up to 100 people looking for an Apprenticeship and you will be invited to attend at an allocated time.

The events offer you the chance to find out about and apply for the vacancies available with selected training providers and employers. Unfortunately we are not able to bring all of the live vacancies in the city to each event and you 

may not be able to find what you are looking for at that event. However, you will be able to register with the different training providers to be notified when new vacancies come up and you may find what you’re looking for at the following event.

An important part of these events is information, advice and guidance. There will be advisors on hand to meet you and find out about your current situation and what you are looking for. They will let you know what kinds of vacancies are available so that you can speak to the right training providers and employers.

For further information please see Apprenticeship Matching.

BEACH employers

Gary Peters from Love Local Jobs being interviewed

BEACH (Brighton Employability Advice and Careers Hut) is a website run by Brighton & Hove City Council and LoveLocal Jobs, designed for young people by young people and is the result of a series of activities involving year 10 students from Brighton & Hove secondary schools and local employers.

Apprentice Ambassador, Rachel Maddison interviewed representatives from 11 local employers from Brighton & Hove City College and Creative Process for BEACHs latest film project to educate young people on what employers are looking for.   

  

The representatives were asked to give their advice to young people about getting a job in their particular sector, and what skills employers look for. Chief Executive of Love Local Jobs, Gary Peters and Tim Jarvis from SeeThat also gave advice on starting up your own business.

You can watch the rest of the film clips on the BEACH website

The film was shot and edited by local digital media company SeeThat.

Elections 2015 in Brighton & Hove

Check out our Communications Apprentice and Ambassador, Ellie Bacon's short film of what goes on behind the scenes as we prepared for the 2015 local and national elections. 

For more information on the elections see http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/elections

The Apprentice Roadshow & Graduation Ceremony 2015 - Short Film

The Apprentice Roadshow & Graduation Ceremony 2015

The Apprentice Ambassadors hosted the first-ever Apprentice Roadshow and Graduation Ceremony, which featured ice breaker games, workshops, inspirational speakers and training sessions. 

The apprentices heard about how to use Facebook and Twitter to find work as well as hearing stories from inspirational speakers.

There are apprentices working across a range of the 800 services the council provides, from the city’s famous Royal Pavilion & Museums, health and social care, schools and much more. 

Kelly Butler, Apprentice Ambassador and Graduate, described the icebreakers as her "favourite part of the day, as it got everyone chatting to each other and it was a fun exercise to do."  

The apprentices also had the opportunity to network with each other and have said they will agree to meet up again. 

Rachel Madison, Apprentice Ambassador and Graduate, said: "Our speakers Corinna Allen and Gary Peters really made the day special by sharing their inspiration stories, and showing the apprentices that they can achieve anything if they put their heart into it." 

Guest speaker Gary Peters, Chief Executive of Love Local Jobs, said: "There are many apprentices out there doing a great job and educating themselves while working at the same time. 

"I don't know if there is a network where they can swap information and stories to help one another, so events like this are absolutely critical and need to be applauded on that."

Chief Executive, Penny Thompson, said: “I think it is really good for apprentices to come in contact with one another and it is great for managers to get appreciation for the work they have done with apprentices. A bit of celebration is a very good thing."

The Graduation

Apprentice Graduates, Rosie and Kelly

Rosie O'Connor

Rosie O'Connor

Cultural Apprentice, Rosie O'Connor has recently graduated from her apprenticeship with the Royal Pavilion & Museums and has landed herself a new job with Brighton Dome & Festival as Administrative Assistant.

Rosie was studying towards a Business Administration Diploma, Level 3 at Chichester College which she recently completed in January. She also completed a Level 2 NVQ in Customer Service in 2014, also with the Royal Pavilion & Museums.

Rosie, said: “I have had a wonderful two years working for the Royal Pavilion Museums and have been given so many incredible opportunities. I’ve worked on a huge variety of projects, including building exhibitions and delivering the schools programme, and have been able to develop a wide range of skills under the guidance of my team.

"The apprenticeship provided a great structure for my training and gave me solid standards for workplace knowledge which will be very helpful in my career.

My confidence in the workplace has massively increased and I’ve gained a real understanding of how the Arts & Cultural sector works. 

"My apprenticeship has given me the qualifications and high quality experience needed to stay in this competitive sector and I can’t wait to start my new role with Brighton Dome & Festival.” 

Kelly Butler

Kelly Butler

Human Resources (HR) Apprentice, Kelly Butler has also graduated from her apprenticeship with Brighton & Hove City Council and has secured herself a job with the Organisational and Workforce Development team as an Administrator within the council. 

Kelly was studying towards a Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship in Human Resources Management at Chichester College, which she has also successfully passed.

Kelly said: “Working in the HR department as an Apprentice has been such a great experience. I have been lucky enough to work with all teams in HR, which I feel gave me the confidence, knowledge and experience needed when applying for this particular role.

"I am thankful to everyone in the HR department for teaching me everything I need to know about Human Resources, and ensuring that I gain valuable skills and knowledge for future employment.

"Being an Apprentice at Brighton & Hove City Council has provided me with many transferable skills, which I wouldn’t have developed if it wasn’t for my HR apprenticeship.

"I cannot wait to start my new job in the Workforce Development team!”

New Local Taxation Apprentices - Liz and Will.

Liz Moore, 28 and Will Kemp, 19 are now fully underway with their Local Taxation Apprenticeship with Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC). 

The pair started their apprenticeship in November 2014 and will finish April 2016. 

Our Background

Liz: "Before my apprenticeship I was working in Brazil as an English Teacher, I then went on to work with Health Management Companies in Australia and England, after this I worked at EDF Energy in Portslade."

Will: "After I finished college I didn't know what to do, so I ended up working in Tesco for a year. I wanted to move on and learn and new trade while getting paid, so I decided to go for an apprenticeship."

Hear the full interview with Liz and Will