Council strengthens its commitment to apprenticeships

Durham County Council’s 2025 apprentices alongside Cllr Andrew Husband, Leader of the council (centre), Cllr Darren Grimes, Deputy Leader (centre left) and the local authority’s chief executive John Hewitt (centre right).

A new strategy setting out how a council will build on its success at recruiting and supporting apprentices will be presented to its Cabinet next week

Durham County Council’s Cabinet will hear how the local authority has employed 951 apprentices and provided more than 1,100 upskilling opportunities since 2019, working alongside 53 training providers in a range of sectors.

Seventy-four per cent of these apprentices have been retained in employment within the council, with others supported into roles at different organisations or further education and training.

Of the apprentices recruited by the council in 2025, 88 per cent are County Durham residents.

Durham County Council apprentices have also won local, regional and national awards, while the council itself has been featured in the Government’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers List twice in the last five years.

As part of the council’s ongoing commitment to its apprenticeship programme, Cabinet will be asked to adopt an updated Apprenticeship Strategy for 2025 to 2028 when it meets at County Hall in Durham City on Wednesday 19 November.

The strategy is closely aligned to the new Council Plan, specifically the ambition of supercharging the economy by improving access to learning and skills and providing a greater choice of career options. It also supports the ambition of reforming the council by ensuring it has a workforce fit for the future.

Cllr Darren Grimes, the council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for finance, said: “Apprenticeships are key to helping us to attract, develop and retain the very best talent within our workforce - from young people first starting out in their careers to adults looking to retrain.

“We want to ensure we have the right people in place to deliver the highest quality services to our communities. We also want to create life-changing opportunities for County Durham residents and break down barriers into employment.

“Our Apprenticeship Strategy is about making sure we get the best possible value for money out of the apprenticeship funding we receive – both in terms of meeting our current and future skills needs and providing positive and rewarding experiences for our apprentices.”

Cabinet will hear that an apprenticeship levy was introduced by the Government in April 2017 to cover apprentice training costs. Durham County Council is required to contribute 0.5 per cent of its total pay bill for services and maintained schools to the levy. To date, the council has paid more than £15 million into the apprenticeship levy, but has claimed back and spent £10 million on training and committed a further £4 million for ongoing apprenticeships.

The council promotes apprenticeship opportunities through its website, social media and at careers events at schools and colleges.

Apprentices are recruited throughout the year where there is a flexible start to the training element of the programme. An annual recruitment campaign also takes place each spring ready for a September start in line with colleges and university start dates.

To find out more, visit www.durham.gov.uk/apprenticeships.