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Do it for the career you always wanted

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Step In Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is an opportunity to earn a salary, gain hand-on-experience and achieve a nationally recognised qualification while still able to access the benefits of working for DCC. As an apprentice, you will spend a portion of your paid time attending training with your training provider to help you gain the skills you need to complete your apprenticeship. Our Step In apprenticeship programme is for anyone over the age of 16 in England who are early in their career or looking for a career change.

On an annual basis, we offer apprenticeships in Business Administration, Customer Service, Civil Engineering, Assistant Accountancy and Social Worker and a variety of further apprenticeships from entry-level roles, up to degree-level roles on an ad-hoc basis.

All apprentices are required to have GCSE or an equivalent qualification in English and maths at a grade 4/C or above. If an apprentice does not already hold these, they will be required to complete functional skills alongside their apprenticeship.

Why Devon County Council?

Devon County Council’s apprenticeship programme offers a highly competitive starting salary varying depending on the apprenticeship and level, 26 days annual leave rising to 31 after 5 years’ service time off for bank holidays and public holidays, flexible working arrangements and additional training opportunities for apprentices. 

Apprentices will have the opportunity to attend apprentice only training and development workshops in the following areas, Interview skills, Presentation skills, Excel & Word training, Financial Advice for Life (information on how to budget, mortgages, credit choices), Insights Discovery (a personal development course) and much more!

 

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How to apply

All apprenticeship opportunities are advertised on the Devon jobs website. We also advertise through the National Apprenticeship Service and on our Social Media channel (@DCCApprentices).

What it is like to be an apprentice, and where it can take you?

Find out from Matt and Sunny what it is like to be an apprentice at Devon County Council.

We also offer apprenticeships to existing staff looking to upskill in their current role through our Next Step programme. Several of our Step In apprentices have gone on to complete further apprenticeships to continue their professional development after securing permanent employment. 

Previous apprentices who have taken the Next Step in their career

Learn more about our apprenticeships

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Business Administration & Customer Service Apprenticeships

Our Level 3 Business Administration and Level 2 Customer Service apprenticeships give individuals the chance to work in services across the Council and Devon.  

As a Business Administration or Customer Service Apprentice, you will support your team, engage with different services in the Council and interact with internal and external customers while developing a range of skills.   

Over 15-18 months the apprenticeship is an excellent way to gain ‘on the job’ experience and highly transferable skills to support your future career journey whether you are just starting your professional career or looking for a career change/to retrain.   

Meet current/former apprentices who started their career via this apprenticeship route:  

Civil Engineering Apprenticeships

Our Level 3 & 4 Civil Engineering apprenticeships give individuals the chance to work on projects relating to roads, bridges and structures. Through our Civil Engineering apprenticeship programme, you’ll gain knowledge in areas such a project management, planning, design, site supervision and more. These apprenticeships are ideal if you are skilled in maths and physics and have an interested in how our modern world is engineered.  

Previous apprentices have had the opportunity to progress onto higher level and degree level apprenticeships in Civil Engineering after securing permanent employment with the Council.   

Meet current/former apprentices who started their career via this apprenticeship route: 

 

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Ad-hoc Apprenticeships

We continuously look to expand our apprenticeship offer with ad-hoc opportunities utilising different apprenticeship standards. These have included apprenticeships in Audit, Data, Digital, Procurement, Rehabilitation and more.  

Meet current/former apprentices completing a range of apprenticeship standards: 

  • Emma – Rehabilitation Worker  
  • Oscar – Data Analyst  
  • Alison – Town Planning 

 

Ring-fenced apprenticeships for care leavers  

We also offer ring-fenced apprenticeship opportunities for care leavers. Care leavers completing an apprenticeship are eligible for a one-off payment of £3,000!  

The legal definition of a care experienced young person/care leaver is a young person aged 16-25 years old who has been ‘looked after’ by the local authority at some point since they were 14 years old and were in care on or after their 16th birthday. 

If you are interested in finding out more about our ring-fenced apprenticeships for care leavers, please link with your Personal Advisor for more information and keep an eye on our Devon Jobs Website.  

Hear from some of our apprentices who joined Devon County Council through ring-fenced apprenticeship opportunities. 

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