Apprentice success stories

My name is Ben Mailes. I studied a BTEC Level 3 in Applied Science (Forensic Science) at Truro College before starting my apprenticeship at Cornwall Council. I chose to not go to University because I wanted to complete an apprenticeship within Cornwall. I also wanted to give something back to Cornwall.

I started at Cornwall Council in March 2016 aged 19. I started as a Level 2 business admin apprentice in the Strategic Transport Team.

I have undertaken many different tasks, for example, I deal with finance for the team such as raising purchase orders, admin tasks such as setting up meetings, booking meeting rooms and archiving. I also completed a project where I needed to find, review and record Cornwall Council civic items across Cornwall.

My Name is Jordan James and I am 23 years old. Before becoming an apprentice at Cornwall Council I was working in Newquay as an insurance broker.

I started at Cornwall Council in June 2017 aged 22. I applied for an apprenticeship at Cornwall Council because a friend who works at the Council recommended it to me. I wanted to find a job where there is room to advance, and Cornwall Council gives you the opportunity to develop and grow into a career.  My apprenticeship is with the Information Services team (IT) and I have worked with the service desk and business applications team.
In my day to day role I provide a varying level of IT support to employees at Cornwall Council. This can be via the telephone or our online ticketing programme.

As an apprentice at Cornwall Council I have undertaken many different in-house courses; I have completed application and interview support, team building, communication, and problem solving courses. I am also completing my Level 3 IT qualification at college.

Working for Cornwall Council is pretty good, I really like it. There are lots of benefits working for a big organisation. There are also pathways to progress into careers with other employees sharing their knowledge and experiences to help.

The best thing about being an apprentice is the opportunities that are given to you to move around different teams in the IT service. If I had been a normal service desk employee I might not of had this type of opportunity. I can now draw on these experiences in the future when applying for roles in the IT service.

I have been supported throughout my apprenticeship by my team, managers, other Council apprentices and by everyone who is involved in the Council’s apprenticeship programme.

In the future I hope to gain employment in the IT service at Cornwall Council. 

My name is Laura Sutton, before becoming an apprentice at Cornwall Council I was at college and had a cleaning job. After I finished college I got a work experience placement for 2 months as an assistant accountant, this made me realise that I wanted to have a job in something to do with finance. I started to look for an apprenticeship but the right one didn’t come up. Over that Christmas I started working as a temp in retail, once I completed my employment contract I started looking for apprenticeships.

I applied for a level 2 business admin apprenticeship with the employment support team (payroll) at Cornwall Council. It was the perfect apprenticeship for me. I was successful and started my apprenticeship in February 2017 aged 19. I applied for an apprenticeship at Cornwall Council as I wanted to do something better than I already was. I want to be able to get a proper job so one day I can get a mortgage and go on nice holidays.

I have completed a lot of Cornwall Council in house training throughout my apprenticeship. I have followed the apprenticeship development programme. I also attended Excel training which really helped in me in my job role.

I feel secure working for Cornwall Council. The people I work with are lovely. There are so many training opportunities.

I really enjoyed being an apprentice. The apprentice network group meetings kept me in touch with other apprentices in an informal meeting space.

I felt supported through the most part of my apprenticeship. There was times I got confused with the college work, but there was always someone to contact if I needed them.

Recently I started a new job at Cornwall Council. I now have a permanent contract with the Academy schools employment – transactional service team.

I’m not sure on my future plans, but for now I am enjoying my new role and the potential progression routes.

My Name is Ethan Budge and I am 17 years old. I was at school studying my GCSEs before becoming an apprentice at Cornwall Council. I started my apprenticeship 2 days after my last GCSE exam. I knew I wanted to go straight into an apprenticeship after I left school.

I started at Cornwall Council in June 2017 aged 16. I applied for an apprenticeship at Cornwall Council as it was recommended that they are good employer and there are always opportunities here to develop and move up.  My apprenticeship is with the Finance Processing team.

With the Finance Processing team I process invoices that are sent to the Council. I also deal with invoice queries and help support the telecare billing, which is setting up and removing customers.

As well as going to college to study for my AAT Level 2 and 3, I have been completing the Council’s learning and development programme for apprentices. I have also booked onto Microsoft Excel and Outlook courses to help me learn more about the programmes and how I can use them in my role.

I am really enjoying working at Cornwall Council. It is a lot different to what I thought it was going to be like. I thought it was going to be a bit dull/boring but it’s not!

The best thing about being an apprentice is I am able to complete courses at the Council that links with my role and my apprenticeship. I am also not treated any differently to any other Council employee or anyone else in the team.

I have been supported throughout my apprenticeship by my line manager.

Once I have completed my two year apprenticeship I will hold an AAT Level 3 qualification. With this I hope to gain employment in the Cornwall Council accountancy team and complete my AAT Level 4 and Charted Accountancy qualifications.

My name is David Liddicoat before becoming an apprentice at Cornwall Council I was a complex manager for a local holiday park. I was in charge of the golf club, swimming pool and the park. After 7 years of working as a complex manager I was sadly made redundant. After I was made redundant I became a delivery driver as an in-between job whilst I decided what I wanted to do.

I started working for Cornwall Council in November 2017 aged 31. I applied for an apprenticeship at Cornwall Council because I wanted to get an AAT qualification and I thought an apprenticeship would be the best way to obtain the qualification.

My apprenticeship is within the finance service at Cornwall Council. I provide support to all the management accountants and service accountants, I also support grant claims and freedom of information requests.

I have undertaken lots of leaning and development opportunities at Cornwall Council. I have recently completed an ECDL qualification which the Council paid for. I have also completed in house training on Microsoft Excel and Outlook.

Working for Cornwall Council is great you get to work with lots of experienced people who are willing to help you with your work and study. The flexi time and the courses available are also amazing!

The best thing about being an apprentice is learning new skills and working towards a nationally recognised qualification.  I like the development programme the Council run for apprentices and the apprentice network group meetings.

I have felt very supported during my apprenticeship, my manager, the team and staff on the same floor have supported me. No one has ever said they are too busy to help.

I’m not really sure what I want to do after my level 3 apprenticeship. I think I would like to complete my AAT level 4 and become a management accountant or I could side step into a different team at the Council.

My Name is Sophie Douglas I was 23 when I started my apprenticeship at Cornwall Fire and Rescue. Before becoming an apprentice I was working as a packaging designer for the Gro Company. I had previously completed a Product design degree and although enjoying this career, I wanted a more challenging role.

I started at Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service in October 2017. I applied for an apprenticeship with Cornwall Fire and Rescue because it has always been an ambition of mine to join the Fire and Rescue Service and now with the apprenticeship I have the opportunity to do this while gaining multiple qualifications.

After 2 months intense competence training, I now work as an operational firefighter and form the 6th member of the operational crew during the week. A typical day involves training, checking equipment, community safety and responding to a wide variety of calls, such as car crashes, chemical spills, flooding, water rescue, general rescue and fires.

I have been following a training programme with the Fire Service and College; lectures, exercises and practical sessions. We are learning how to build confidence skills, dealing with the inevitable stresses of the role, maintaining fitness levels with personal training, learning about citizenship diversity and responding to a wide range of emergency incidents.
Working for Cornwall Fire and Rescue is fantastic! It has allowed me to fulfil my ambition, in an inclusive and supportive environment.

Being a Firefighter apprentice means every day is different. Every 3 months we move to a different fire station this allows us to gain operational experience on most of the specialised equipment in the service, as this varies from station to station as each area has different high risks.  We also get to work with a variety of different Watches (crews) so get to work with most of the firefighters in Cornwall.

I have felt very supported in my apprenticeship, all the firefighter apprentices regularly meet with our line manager, SM Guy Herrington, and also day to day have personal mentors on stations to support and discuss any issues that arise throughout the apprenticeship.

Once I complete my apprenticeship I would love to gain permanent employment within Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service.

My name is Ellie Skinner and before I became an apprentice at Cornwall Council I had just finished doing a degree in Human Geography and found policy really interesting. I undertook work experience at Cornwall Council in the Strategy and Engagement Policy Team. Whilst I was undertaking my work experience placement an apprenticeship became available within the team - I applied and was successful.

I was 21 when I started my apprenticeship at Cornwall Council in August 2018.

I really wanted to get into the team working in a professional environment. My apprenticeship is the perfect opportunity to do this and to meet different people and learn transferable skills. I felt that Business Admin went nicely with my degree and put what I had learnt into use. Also carer progression in Cornwall Council is good and it’s a well-known and respected Council to work for.

I started in Strategy and Engagement which is really busy and varied. No day is ever the same. I provide support for senior leaders as well as support for the team in general. I book meetings, events and shadow meetings.

Since starting my apprenticeship I have undertaken some of the learning and development opportunities at Cornwall Council. I have completed my Insights discovery training. I have also signed up to confidence building, advanced requisitioner, Umbraco and negotiation skills training. The great thing about apprenticeships is that it gives you a lot of opportunity for personal development.

I am really enjoying working for Cornwall Council. My role is really varied, and I love my team and the people I work for.

The best thing about being an apprentice is the development opportunities. It’s good to get experience working in a professional organisation.

I feel very supported during my apprenticeship, by my line manager, his manager and my mentor. Everyone on the floor is very supportive.

In the future I hope to gain full time employment as a policy officer in Cornwall Council.  But for now I am getting to grips with the role and working in a big organisation.

My name is Megan Arnold. Before becoming an apprentice I worked in retail, cafes and on a holiday park. I was also studying for my A-levels at college. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after college. I saw a poster for Cornwall Council apprenticeships and decided to apply.

I started my apprenticeship at Cornwall Council in October 2017 aged 19. In the planning enforcement team but am now working in the planning appeals team. Day to day I filter complaints to triage who decide if we have a case or not. If we have a case I set everything up for the case. The work I do in the appeals team is collating documents to send to the planning inspectorate in Bristol.

As an apprentice at Cornwall Council I have been working with the college to complete my NVQ. This has been a mix of face to face sessions in college and uploading evidence to my portfolio. I have been undertaking the Council's apprentice development programme. I have also completed training on planning systems and young planner training.

Working for Cornwall is great. I like the flexibility. Working using flexi time allows you to attend appointments with ease.

I don’t feel like an apprentice, I feel like any other member of the team. You never feel alone. Being an apprentice is great as there is lots of in-house training available for us.

I have felt supported throughout my apprenticeship. I don’t get micromanaged, if I need help there is always someone to ask.

In the future I will hopefully get permanent employment with the planning appeals team at Cornwall Council.