Up to 50 new apprenticeships are being created at Nottingham City Council over the coming year.
The new minimum 12 month-long contracts will be across all areas of the council, including business administration, highways and HGV mechanics.
The new vacancies are great for young people starting out in their careers and anyone who is struggling to get into work or training. A few of the roles do not have any qualification restrictions but applicants must live in the city.
Nottingham City Council is one of the city’s largest employers and runs a well-established, nationally recognised and multiple award-winning apprenticeship scheme. An apprenticeship there will give aspiring job seekers significant experience of working within a complex and diverse organisation. An apprenticeship combines on-the-job experience backed up by quality training and the chance to earn a wage.
20 year old Leon, from Bilborough, who is an apprentice Web Support Officer at Nottingham City Council, said: “When I left Bluecoat Academy, I decided to join the army, but my mum suggested looking at apprenticeships in the meantime.
“I went to see Nottingham Jobs advisors, and they matched me up with an apprenticeship at the council. I had my interview and found out what kind of things I’d be working on. I love my job – I am always learning new skills.”
Anyone shortlisted for a role will be invited to an assessment day in the first week of March. Candidates who aren’t successful in securing a post will be offered the chance to sign up to pre-employment training courses and other support offered by Nottingham Jobs (the city’s recruitment and careers guidance service for residents provided by Nottingham City Council, the DWP and Futures Advice, Skills and Employment).
Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills, said: “As well as being committed to ensuring that there is sufficient support and guidance for people who need help finding work or training, we are also doing our bit as a large employer to create actual work opportunities for Nottingham people. These 50 new apprenticeship vacancies will provide a platform from which people will hopefully go on to launch their careers.”
The recruitment of the apprentices is being managed by Futures Training (the training arm of Futures Advice, Skills and Employment). Vacancies will go live on 23rd January and interested applicants should apply online by visiting www.nottinghamjobs.com.
The combined activities of the council’s employment and skills team together with those of its local partners have made a major contribution to the on-going fall in unemployment generally in the city.
The total of 4,809 includes 2,300 local residents who were helped into employment and 915 young people into apprenticeships supported through the council’s Nottingham Jobs Hub.
Nottingham has one of the lowest combined percentages of 16 and 17 year olds who are not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), with the lowest ‘not known’ rate of all the core cities. ‘Not known’ is the number of 16-18 year olds whose post 16 outcome is unknown or not recorded.
Of the 2,728 sixteen year olds who completed school Year 11 this summer:
- 96.63 per cent (2636) went into further education, employment and training
- 2.82 per cent (77) are NEET (not in education, employment or training)
- 0.55 per cent (15) are ‘not known.’
Overall, unemployment in Nottingham has been cut by more than half in just five years. In 2012, the number of people claiming job seekers was 14,677 but by January 2017 that number has more than halved to under 7,000.
The city has seen the biggest fall in unemployment of any of England’s Core Cities, according to latest figures. Unemployment in Nottingham City fell by 1% in the month of November and by 4.2% in the previous 12 months, whereas Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle have all seen increases in unemployment over the last year.
For more information about how the Jobs Hub could benefit you, please visit www.nottinghamjobs.com, email employer.hub@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or telephone 0115 87 64508