Alice finds scheme has set her on right path
THERE MAY be serious challenges ahead to recruit the number of apprentices demanded by government but over the past decade North Yorkshire County Council has enjoyed significant success.
The local authority has recruited more than 440 apprentices into areas such as business administration, health and social care, and customer services, with many continuing to work for the council afterwards.
Alice Batley, 25, from Yarm, was unsure which direction to take after finishing her A-levels and so she took a 12-month apprenticeship with the council as an administration assistant in which she processed, among other things, bus pass
I wanted a job that would have an impact on people. Alice Batley, a successful apprentice now working for North Yorkshire County Council
applications. That was six years ago and she has since held a HR role before landing a job as a project manager in the council’s technology and change department – which looks at how the council can be run more effectively and efficiently.
She is also undertaking further training at the council, through a new chartered manager degree apprenticeship through Coventry University at its Scarborough campus, which sees her study costs covered by apprenticeship levy funding.
She said: “I didn’t want to go to university because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wanted to be in a job that was going to have prospects and further training and opportunities.
“I didn’t intend to work for the local authority but I wanted a job that would have an impact on people. With North Yorkshire being such a big organisation, doing so many things, I found that appealing, and I’ve found the council is great at providing training and opportunities in a structured way.”