Brent Council Apprentices

Published
02 Jun
2012

New opportunities for young people - 21st Century Talent!

London boroughs are rightly worried about high levels of youth unemployment.  There’s a lot of handwringing, furrowed brows and anxiety over whether enough is being done to assist young people find employment.  

Brent Council, as a major local employer, has made a bold commitment to lead by example.  A strategic decision was made.  The Council has made a strategic decision to take a proactive approach to create new job opportunities for young people in the borough.  They are looking for innovative ways to bring together diverse partners including the development of a 100 place apprenticeship scheme within the Council.  

Lotus HR was asked to provide the expertise that the Council didn’t have in-house to undertake the groundwork in preparation to launch the ambitious apprenticeship programme.

Over a four month period, Lotus worked with directors across the all service areas to produce the outcomes required to get apprenticeships embedded.  In a short timeframe excellent results were achieved:

The first phase of the programme was successfully implemented and resulted in the appointment of the first 20 apprentices and a seamless handover to a newly appointed programme co-ordinator.

  • The value to the business of appointing an apprentice was spread across all council services
  • Service departments were engaged resulting in 45 apprentice positions being offered
  • Recruitment process designed
  • Key responsibilities were established and communicated
  • Selection of training provider who could deliver apprenticeships across a diverse range of occupational areas

The first phase of the programme was successfully implemented and resulted in the appointment of the first 20 apprentices and a seamless handover to a newly appointed programme co-ordinator.