National Apprenticeship Week - thoughts from an Early Talent leader

National Apprenticeship Week starts today (8th Feb) and over the week ONS, as well as many other organisations and businesses across the UK, will be highlighting the fantastic work done by and opportunities for apprentices, from all backgrounds and stages of their careers, and in many different roles.

As the ONS are a fantastic advocate of apprenticeships, and being an apprentice myself on a CIPD apprenticeship, I thought it would be good to catch up with our Head of Early Talent, Alex Lardner, and get his thoughts on #NAW2021, and apprenticeships in general.

"As Head of Early Talent at the Office for National Statistics, I have been reflecting on what National Apprenticeship Week (8th - 14th February 2021) means for us in a year that has been so drastically impacted by unexpected change.

Traditionally, those utilising apprenticeships as a step onto the career ladder came from school or college. Because of this, many people assume they are opportunities for younger and less experienced people. However, in actual fact, they are great vehicles for career development for everyone!

At ONS, we are very proud of all our staff who have completed or currently undertaking an apprenticeship. We have colleagues who have worked with us for years that are studying to consolidate their experience with a formal qualification and those who are studying to grow their knowledge at a higher level. We wholeheartedly support our staff in further advancing their careers and professional development.

We also directly recruit apprentices, which attract people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are school leavers at 16, others are career changers and are using apprenticeships to take a new professional direction. 

As an organisation, we see the value in each and every one of our apprentices. We understand that individuals bring to work unique personal experiences and perspectives. Through harnessing these differences, we can build a workforce that more accurately understands the data, needs and impacts our work has on the nations that we serve.

We offer apprenticeship opportunities from Level 3 (A-level equivalent) as an entry route into our business for those who feel that have limited experience, all the way through to Level 6 (Degree level) in specialist areas, with a huge variety in between. We look for people with great attitudes and a drive to do their best and develop.

Apprenticeships really are for everyone. When you see an advert for an apprenticeship opportunity, no matter your background, ask questions, you never know where it might take you!"

If you are interested in an apprenticeship within the Civil Service, you can check out the newly launched apprenticeship pages on the Civil Service Careers website by following this link, or visit our ONS Careers page to see our list of all current live vacancies, and setup a search alert for any future apprenticeships we might be advertising