APPRENTICESHIPS
‘I’ve come
a pretty
long way’
Apprentices Jasmeet and Seamus chose to earn while they learn after they left
school. Now they find themselves on a path to careers thanks to the Ealing
Council apprenticeship scheme. Could you see yourself on the same path?
N
ow in its 10th year, the
council’s apprenticeship
programme has recruited
more than 250 young
people, who have completed at least
a year’s work experience and left with
qualifications in-hand. The programme
involves a one-year training agreement
with an optional second year, and a
training allowance starting from £160
per week.
The next round of council
apprenticeships is being recruited
to now and the council is looking for
24
around ealing
Autumn 2016
enthusiastic and motivated 16-23 yearolds to get paid to learn new skills and
make a start on building a great career.
SEAMUS’S STORY
Seamus Bentaleb’s best subject in school
was IT and it was a subject he followed
through to study at college before
working in a bookshop. “I wanted to
make the most of my qualification, and
knew I needed experience,” he said.
“My aunty suggested that I apply
for an apprenticeship after she saw a
vacancy advertised online.
“Now I’m a building control
administrator apprentice at Ealing
Council and I deal with customers
and surveyors giving advice around
building control applications.”
Seamus has been able to use
his previous IT skills to impress his
colleagues by helping when a new
system was introduced: “We moved
to a new database system for loading
applications,” he said. “It was a
complicated system for everyone to
begin with but I enjoyed helping the
team to get used to it.