This autumn Norfolk County Council will hand thirty local job seeking youngsters an employment lifeline by awarding them a 12 month apprenticeship. News of the initiative, which will cost almost a quarter of a million pounds comes quickly on the heels of the announcement earlier this year – that hundreds of apprentices taken on in the private sector, in Norwich and Norfolk, are to be supported financially.

Currently, local employers who take on an apprentice can benefit from having 100% of their training costs met, meaning the company itself only has to fund the apprentice’s weekly wage. The positions created by this latest announcement, which will be mainly in office administration and IT are expected to be filled early next year and successful applicants can look forward to 12 months of quality training and invaluable work experience thereafter.

Although there are no guarantees, this could lead to a full time employed position at the council or with a local company, and at the very least should ensure that the apprentice has a very marketable CV to take to prospective employers.