#NAW2020 Spotlight on… Norfolk

To mark National Apprenticeship Week #NAW2020 the East of England LGA is shining a spotlight on examples of activities and events happening in Councils across the Region to celebrate apprenticeships in local government. Here are just a selection of events and promotional activities taking place across Norfolk.

Norfolk County Council
Norfolk County Council have a wide range of activities planned for National Apprenticeship Week. Kicking off with two Apprenticeships 101 sessions on Monday 3 February for potential apprentices and managers to come along for a presentation about apprenticeships, followed by a Q&A session with a panel including some of their current apprentices. The first session is for potential apprentices focusing on the standards available and requirements of an apprenticeship and the second for managers who are interested in offering apprenticeships within their team, recruiting an apprentice to a vacant post or doing a management apprenticeship themselves.

There will be an Apprentice Networking event on Tuesday 4 February where potential apprentices can meet some of our current apprentices and get involved in a ‘speed-dating’ style activity – a great opportunity for our current apprentices to start meeting each other and grow their professional networks.

On Thursday 6 February Norfolk will be holding a Training Provider Showcase with some of their Framework Providers coming to share their knowledge and expertise on Apprenticeship Standards, learning styles and the requirements of an apprenticeship.

And on Friday 7 February the Norfolk County Council Apprenticeships Team will be available across the whole day in the main foyer at County Hall to answer any questions from those interested in an apprenticeship and will have an activity on which may be involving cupcakes as a ‘find the apprenticeship’ type activity.

Throughout the week the Apprenticeships Team are going to be available across lunch times in the main foyer and will also be running a ‘power hour’ for drop in sessions on every floor of County Hall and two other nearby Norfolk County Council locations, for individuals to come and meet the Apprenticeships Team and talk all things apprenticeships!

Lots of work has taken place alongside the internal Communications Team to showcase all of the events, and during the week their will be updates posted to the intranet pages focusing on the ‘look beyond’ theme of this year’s NAW and combatting a stereotype around apprenticeships.

Breckland Council
At Breckland Council, lots of useful information has been posted to the intranet pages, including:

• What is an Apprentice
• Our Scheme
• Pay & Benefits
• Your Development
• Our Commitment to you
• FAQ’s & testimonials
• Some videos and Q&A’s
• Some myth busters

There is an article in our staff newsletter about apprenticeship week and directing them to the intranet pages. In addition, one of the apprentices has developed a quiz which will be shared with all staff.

Borough of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk
Apprentices at the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk have been leading the National Apprenticeship Week project, and have developed a series of promotional activities during the week.

A questionnaire was sent around to all our current apprentices, asking what their experiences have been. An article will be published in the internal staff magazine, which will be followed up after the event in the March edition. A press release will be sent out next week marking the beginning of Apprenticeship Week. A flyer and pop-up banner have been created to advertise the apprenticeships that the council offers, including degree-level apprenticeships.

In addition, they will be hosting an Apprentices Mixer Event – an event organised to celebrate their apprentices, giving them the opportunity to network across the council, meet other apprentices, share their experiences and have a well-deserved break from the office for a while.

Finally, a series of social media posts to post throughout apprenticeship week have been drafted, hopefully one-a-day, using quotes pulled from the answered questionnaires.

There are also many other events and promotional activities happening across the Norfolk Authorities that we have not been able to list – what a busy week it looks set to be.

The East of England LGA is committed to raising awareness of the importance of apprenticeships to our organisations and economies and to help increase the number and uptake of apprenticeships across the region. Working together is the best way to achieve this!

Find out more about the Get up and Grow campaign here.