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Crop of young apprentices at Blackburn with Darwen Council

Blackburn with Darwen Council is giving 20 new apprentices the chance to prove their worth.

The new starters are working in departments across the council, including Children’s Services, IT, Environment and Legal.

The authority now employs a total of 48 apprenticesl. They met council leader Kate Hollern and chief executive Harry Catherall, who officially introduced them to the organisation.

Cllr Hollern said: “We have high hopes of all the young people at Blackburn with Darwen Council. Young people have so much to offer the council and this is a great way to develop real on-the-job skills and learn a great deal

“It was wonderful to meet the apprentices – they were all raring to go and I hope they have a brilliant experience here at the council. We’ve got some great apprentices who make a real contribution to the work of our organisation.

Harry Catherall added: “Our groups of apprentices have been absolutely fantastic and have achieved an enormous amount. I am absolutely confident they will find fantastic opportunities at Blackburn with Darwen Council. Giving young people the opportunity to work within the council is giving them a wealth of experience to help them have a better future.

“Youth unemployment is an issue we are keen to help address and it is important we ensure young people have opportunities in all areas to give them a wide range of skills.

Apprentice Sam Cudworth, 23, studied Law at the University Centre at Blackburn College, graduating in 2012. He said: “This is a great opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to learn new skills and making a real contribution to the Council.”

The new apprentices are:

Waqar Ghaffar, Chloe Dobson, Beth Turner, Kimberley Almond, Dominic Hoyle, Adam Lynn, Sarah Davies, Mohamed Patel, Alexander Giles, Saad Bandarkar, Chris Newman, Lewis Kilpatrick, Shannon Gardiner, Sam Cudworth, Bradley Nissen, Sadiyah Mulla, Karen Brown, Amy Brooks, Jessica Mary Kenyon and Jacques McCaughran.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .