The government sets a target for public sector bodies with 250 or more staff. They should employ 2.3% of their staff as new apprentice starts each year. This target applies to Cornwall Council. We must ‘have regard’ for the target. This means we must:
- Report our data every year (see Data Publication table below)
- Explain how we have tried to meet the target and the challenges we have dealt with
1. Data Publication – Public Sector Duty
|
Cornwall Council Reporting percentages |
2017-2018 |
2018-2019 |
2019-2020 |
2020-2021 |
2021-2022 |
|
Percentage of apprenticeship starts as a proportion of employment starts between 1 April to 31 March |
16.52% |
12.69% |
16.32% |
7.32% |
13.50% |
|
Percentage of total headcount that were apprentices on 31 March |
1.68% |
2.33% |
2.93% |
2.17% |
2.56% |
|
Percentage of apprenticeship starts between 1 April to 31 March as a proportion of total headcount on 31 March |
1.56% |
1.62% |
1.89% |
0.66% |
1.53% |
2. Actions taken towards meeting the Public Sector Duty Target
Our Apprenticeship Strategy shows our plans to increase apprenticeships in our workforce. This is line with our skills needs. Here are some of the actions we took in 2020/2021:
- Our apprenticeship starts were 103 in 2021/22 (up from 46 in 2020/21. The Covid pandemic had a dramatic effect on our plans to recruit more apprentices. We are back on track to recruit more apprenticeship starts. We will do this by recruiting new apprentices and by developing our existing staff.
- Since 2017 67% of new entrant apprentices who completed their programme have got a job with the Council.
- We work with our public sector colleagues in health and social care, and our Group of Companies. This is to address skills gaps and promote job opportunities for our residents
- We committed to transfer £246,000 of our levy funds to adult and children’s social care providers in Cornwall. This helped to create 55 new apprenticeships.
‘Growing our own’ talent is central to our workforce strategy. We use apprenticeships to support skills needs and help raise skills levels across the workforce.
We have over 170 apprenticeships being undertaken in 45 different occupational areas. These include
- vehicle engineering
- business administration
- management and senior leader
- web and media
- commercial procurement
- chartered surveyor
- and social workers
For more information, please get in touch with us at apprenticeships@cornwall.gov.uk