North Ayrshire Council has pledged to continue supporting young people to get their foot on the career ladder.

The local authority is now in its 12th year of delivering a successful Modern Apprenticeship programme across council services, helping hundreds of young people to learn new skills and progress their careers.

Council Leader Marie Burns and Chief Executive Craig Hatton welcomed some of the latest recruits who are working across a diverse range of roles from administration to IT and from housing to health and social care.

Councillor Burns said: “It is more important than ever that we support our young people into work.

“The cost-of-living crisis and soaring inflation means we have a duty to ensure we do everything we can to help our young people access valuable pathways into work and training.

“The scheme has been hugely successful over the years with so many success stories of young people kickstarting their careers either with the council or moving on to develop their careers elsewhere.”

Mr Hatton added: “We’re hugely proud of our apprenticeship scheme and how many young people it has supported.

“But its success is down to the hard work of the apprentices themselves who have proven time and again the value of the programme."

Largs and Millport Weekly News:

The council has been running the scheme for more than a decade, supporting hundreds of modern apprentices. 

Earlier this year, the council's cabinet approved an enhanced modern apprentice programme, which will support around 70 apprentices annually over the next three years.

Modern apprenticeships offer the potential to support workforce development across a range of services including payroll, hospitality, management, digital, facilities, housing, IT, procurement and social services with the programme being developed in partnership with Ayrshire College.