Sheffield housing apprentices see in new year with a flying start

Christmas came early for 15 young people who have secured a housing apprenticeship at Sheffield City Council and got their careers off to a flying start.
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The budding housing officers will spend the next two years gaining valuable skills and experience, leading to an NVQ in Business and Administration, Surveying or Horticulture.

Between them, their work will cover all aspects of housing, including repairs and maintenance, re-letting empty homes, rehousing, money advice, rent payments, estate services, helping homeless people, supporting independent living and general administration.

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Terrell Colphon, aged 20 from Woodhouse, is one of the new apprentices who will be working with the South West Area Housing Team. He said: “For me this apprenticeship is an opportunity to learn new skills and get trained up on professional systems that will help me fulfil a role that I have always dreamed of doing.

“I am hoping to have a job at the end of my apprenticeship as a Housing Plus Officer or at least be in a good position to be able to work in another department of Sheffield City Council or have a similar role in a housing association.”

As a lead authority in this area, Sheffield City Council is committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships in Sheffield and across the city region. It developed the Sheffield 100 programme back in 2011 which has created an extra 100 apprenticeships every year since 2011. It is also leading Sheffield City Region’s Growth Deal to provide 4,000 new apprenticeships, which has already created more than 2,000 positions.

Sheffield has the highest proportion of 16 to 18 year olds in apprenticeships of any major city in England.

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Councillor Jayne Dunn, cabinet member for housing at Sheffield City Council, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the apprentices and wish them good luck as they embark on their new careers.

“This is an exciting time in their lives that I’m sure will provide lots of great opportunities in the future.

“We’re committed to increasing apprenticeships for young people and I am really proud of the fact that we offer more here in Sheffield than in other major cities.”

A further 20 housing apprenticeships will be advertised next year. Sheffield City Council is holding an apprenticeship open day on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at Moorfoot Learning Centre.

To find out more please visit Click here or follow @SheffCouncil on Twitter.