The public-sector apprenticeships target was introduced by government in April 2017 and sets a target for any public-sector employer in England with at least 250 employees to employ an average of 2.3% of their staff headcount as new apprentice starts between 1st April 2017 and March 2021.
Maidstone Borough Council has recently reported back to central government its progress towards meeting the target for the 2017/2018 year, and continues to work towards meeting the target by 2021.
The Council continues to recruit and support apprentices; at the time of publishing this update there were 3 apprenticeship opportunities being advertised, in addition to those already employed within the Council. It is expected to maintain these posts as apprenticeship posts going forward. The Council also has a strategy to review posts when they become vacant to consider whether they could be made apprenticeship posts, to open up further opportunities.
In the past, the Council has found recruiting new apprentices a challenge, which we believe is because of the variety of post-16 opportunities there are available in the Maidstone area, from local employers in terms of apprentices, and schools and colleges for those who prefer to remain in education. To counter this, the Council has raised its payscale for apprentices, from the apprentice minimum wage to the national minimum wage, in the hope of attracting more applicants to its vacancies.
In addition, the Council has also offered apprenticeship training to existing employees to support upskilling our own workforce, and provide opportunities for progression that we might not otherwise have been able to afford to.
It is hoped that over the next few years these new strategies will move us closer towards achieving the required target.
The below figures reflect the reporting period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018:
| Number of employees who work in England | |
|---|---|
| No. of employees on 31 March 2017 | 515 |
| No. of employees on 31 March 2018 | 518 |
| No. of new employees who started work between 01/04/17 to 31/03/2018 | 84 |
| Number of apprentices who work in England | |
| No. of apprentices on 31 March 2017 | 1 |
| No. of apprentices on 31 March 2018 | 4 |
| No. of new apprentices who started work between 01/04/17 to 31/03/2018 (this includes both new hires and existing employees who started an apprenticeship) | 4 |
| Reporting percentages | |
| Percentage of apprenticeship starts (both new hires and existing employees who started an apprenticeship) as a proportion of employment starts between 01/04/17 to 31/03/18 | 4.76% |
| Percentage of total headcount that were apprentices on 31 March 2018 | 0.77% |
| Percentage of apprenticeship starts (both new hires and existing employees who started an apprenticeship) between 01/04/17 to 31/03/18 as a proportion of total headcount on 31 March 2017 | 0.78% |
We offer apprenticeship placements on a two year fixed term basis. See our current jobs page to see if there are any placements available.
Apprenticeships allow you to work and learn at the same time. As an apprentice you will gain new job-specific skills and work towards qualifications. You will get paid national minimum wage and paid holidays.
There are many different types of apprenticeships that range from engineering to financial advice, veterinary nursing to accountancy. There are three apprenticeship levels; intermediate level (level 2), advanced level (level 3) and higher level (level 4).
To apply you can visit the apprenticeships website where you will need to create a profile to apply for vacancies.
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