Council apprentices up for a challenge

A team of nine apprentices from Plymouth City Council is competing in the national Brathay Apprenticeshop Challenge.

The team are currently taking part in regional heats and are assessed on their delivery of a community project that benefits young people in the local area, as well as activities that raise the profile of apprenticeships within the city, in which the team are from and also on a national level.

So far the team have attended school career fairs, talking to young people and parents about apprenticeships and where they can access advice and have questions answered. 

The community project that the team has chosen is to redecorate and refurbish The Zone based on Union Street. This is a charitable organisation that helps young people on a range of topics ranging from questions about sexuality to job seeking.

The team chose to take on this project as it will help young people feel more comfortable visiting The Zone and give a more pleasant environment for young people to talk about difficult subjects. The refurbishment will help the Zone increase awareness of services they provide, for example, the emotional support, information on housing, sexual health and mental health that it provides.

This work will be done with the support of partner organisations such as Plymouth Community Homes who will supply labour in the form of apprentices and materials at no cost.

The team have had meetings with The Zone and they are really pleased that the team had approached them with this proposal.

With help from other apprentices within our city, the team are currently putting together a plan of action to ensure that the work is completed

Areas within the building that are in need of improvement are:

-New carpets
-Vinyl flooring in the toilets
-Plastering the holes in the ceiling
-Painting all the walls
-Deep clean of the whole building

Leader of the Council Ian Bowyer said: “We are so proud of the enthusiasm our apprentices show – not just in the work place but how they approach challenges such as this.

“Apprenticeships play a crucial role in helping us identify talent and future employees. Helping them acquire skills and confidence, is not just good for the council, but good for the city and other organisations.”

The team think that the Brathay Challenge is a good opportunity to work within a team of fellow apprentices from across different parts of the business who they do not normally work with in their day to day jobs. It also gives the members of the team an opportunity to develop leadership and communication skills.

The Brathay Apprentice Challenge has developed the confidence of the team during the Challenge and this will no doubt continue to develop as the challenge goes on.

On 17 May the team will find out if they have been successful in progressing from the regional heat stage of the challenge at the House of Commons in London. If they get through to the finals they will be invited to Brathay Hall on Lake Windermere in the Lake District along with other national finalists on 15 June.

For more information  http://www.brathay.com/development-programmes/brathay-apprentice-challenge