Employer of the Year Award
(50-249 employees)

Chesterfield Borough Council’s building division employs just over 200 staff, of whom 31 are apprentices. The apprentices work in various areas, including brickwork, joinery and plumbing.

The company’s Apprenticeship framework has a phenomenal completion rate of 98%. The Council invests approximately £350,000 per year into their Apprenticeship programme, and its apprentices have won several prestigious awards during the past few years. These include the Direct Works Forum Best 3rd Year Apprentice for England in 2004, Best Overall Apprentice 2004 and a trophy for Excellence in Training Apprentices from the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE).

Barry Chambers, training officer at Chesterfield Borough Council said “Apprentices are our lifeline. We have a continual and sustainable growth of craftspeople that we train from Day One to become the best in their field.”

Mr Chambers continues, “This is crucial for our business development, and allows us to become more competitive in an ever increasing and difficult market.” 

Chesterfield Borough Council spares no time or expense when it comes to ensuring its workforce are trained and experienced in as many areas as possible, and an integral part of this is investing in Further Education which has done wonders for staff retention and morale, and has raised the company’s profile amongst other employers.

Together with work based learning, Chesterfield Borough Council has created an excellent training culture for their apprentices, and as a result has become IIP accredited. The apprentices are allowed entry to the incentive scheme towards the end of their apprenticeships so their salaries increase as they continue to do first class jobs.

Chesterfield Borough Council is a finalist in the Medium Employer category in the national Apprenticeship Awards 2006.