The You’re Hired campaign made a promising start last week with 228 employers pledging to hire an apprentice at the campaign's three simultaneous launch events.

Held in Lewes, Eastbourne and Hastings, the launch introduced the business community to the campaign and helped them to find out more about apprenticeships.

After a televised opening speech from the Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council, Becky Shaw, guests heard from employers and apprentices that are already benefitting from apprenticeships, and spoke to local training providers about the options and support available to them. At the end of the night, guests were urged to sign up to the campaign and pledge to hire an apprentice.

If you’re a business interested in hiring an apprentice, find out more by calling the National Apprenticeship Service on 0800 015 0600 or visit Apprenticeships

3aaa specialise in providing apprenticeships within IT, accountancy and social media. We hear how they helped IT support services company Extech, find their ‘perfect candidate’.

“At Extech we take a big part in the government apprenticeship scheme and aim to give young people in the area a chance to develop their industry knowledge. In the past we have used various apprenticeship companies but have often felt that we were not receiving the personal touch and detailed experience we were looking for. We had been in the process of searching for a new apprenticeship company when 3aaa came to us with all the answers we were looking for alongside an outstanding Ofsted report, detailed information about their IT course and even a list of CVs for potential candidates that were ready for interviews.

"3aaa have an excellent screening process when finding the perfect candidate; not only do they interview the candidate by telephone and face-to-face, they also provide the candidate with training and guidance on how to present the perfect interview. All interviewees that came to Extech knew the background of our business and knew in detail the role and responsibilities of the job they were interviewing for.

“We have since invited the 3aaa applicant, Gianni to join the Extech team as an Apprentice Customer Service Operator and within a short space of time, he has proved himself to be an important member of the team. 3aaa also provided us with training for our existing apprentices who have not only benefited from this, but have also enjoyed visiting the academy and finding out about the 3aaa approach to learning new skill sets.

“Throughout this process our apprentices and Extech have built a fantastic working relationship with our apprentice representative Shannen, who has not only provided excellent support for our young starters but has provided a top class service to the business. We’re now looking for another Gianni as he meets our needs perfectly!”

3aaa has more than 30 apprenticeship academies across the country and works with a range of small, medium and large employers to deliver high quality apprenticeships. Focussing mainly on 16 to 23 year-olds, apprenticeships on offer include Level 3 IT, software, web and telecoms; digital marketing; business administration; and financial services. 3aaa are rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Contact the team on 01273 746394 or visit 3aaa

Pictured: Gianni Gennaro

Charlie Haig has been getting first-hand customer experience at Wealden District Council, handling the public’s recycling enquiries.

“It’s so different from being at college,” said Charlie. “You learn things first hand from watching colleagues take phone calls and respond to emails. You soon realise how important it is that you approach calls and emails in a certain way and take time to choose your words properly.

“You get to experience a whole range of different situations - a resident who is unhappy that their refuse collection has been missed – or helping another resident receive an assisted collection. And you learn so much from your colleagues. Everyone at Wealden has been very friendly.”

Charlie is one of six apprentices Wealden District Council took on last September for 13 months to learn Business Administration skills in conjunction with Sussex Downs College. They have been assigned to Wealden’s Waste Management, Housing, Finance, Revenues & Benefits, Legal & Democratic and Planning services and like Charlie, have been given the opportunity to gain experience in several parts of the organisation and work together on joint projects. 

Charlie’s work in Wealden’s Waste Management department has seen him visiting customers face-to-face, helping to manage community refuse facilities and finding out about the treatment of medical waste. He’s also been able to gain first-hand experience of other workplaces in the Council including Housing and Elections, and has been trained in data protection. Alongside his work at Wealden, Charlie has been studying for his A his Level 2 NVQ in Business Administration with Sussex Downs College.

“I find being an apprentice is more enjoyable that being at college”, he says “I prefer the structure of being at work and meeting people. I never knew the Council did so much. Most people think they collect the council tax and empty the recycling bins, but there is also planning, building inspection, housing, economic development and food safety and lots more.”

Charlie is one of  the Wealden apprentices who is taking advantage of an innovative travel allowance the Council has set up to ensure becoming an apprentice is a viable option for young people living in the more rural parts of the District. It makes sure he does not incur extra costs in getting to work.

Chris Bone, Charlie’s line manager, is very pleased with the progress he is making.

“I was concerned that having an apprentice would require a lot of support and hand-holding but Charlie has been quick to learn and we soon found it was very worthwhile having him on the team. He has been a great help with customers.”

Wealden District Council is supporting the ‘Your Hired East Sussex’ campaign. Wealden run a number of their own apprenticeship placements, working closely with Sussex Downs College. The apprenticeships are in Business Administration skills, and have been assigned across the council, in Housing, Waste Management, Finance, Revenues & Benefits, Legal & Democratic and Planning. They have also set up a travel allowance scheme to ensure becoming an apprentice is a viable option for young people living in the more rural parts of the district.

For more information visit our website: Wealden District Council

Pictured: Charlie Haig and Chris Bone