As part of a commitment to provide quality career opportunities for local people, Gwynedd Council's Cabinet has decided to invest £1.1m in two innovative schemes that will give people in the county the opportunity to begin their career path in their communities.
The new investment is in addition to the £300k that has already helped the council to appoint 35 apprentices over the last two years, 15 more than the original target.
Commenting, Gwynedd Council's Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys said: “I am so pleased that we as a council are committed to investing £1.1m to provide opportunities for the people of Gwynedd to start a career with us.
“The fact that we are ready to invest in these exciting plans for the years to come highlights our ambition to secure good jobs for the people of Gwynedd.
“As one of the largest employers in the county, it’s important that we continue to develop a quality workforce for the future.
“Over the previous years, tens of people have benefited from our apprenticeship and ‘Cynllun Yfory’ schemes.
“As well as gaining key experience in the workplace, these individuals have gained professional qualifications and nine apprentices have already secured permanent jobs with the council.
“Through these schemes, we have also been successful in promoting the equality agenda with many examples of women being appointed to areas historically associated with men, such as civil engineering, as well as men working in areas such as care.
“It's important to remember that anyone over the age of 16 can become an apprentice, but many people think of apprenticeships as something for young people only.
“To dispel that perception, we are also encouraging older people to apply for Gwynedd Council apprenticeships.
"As well as contributing to the aim of enabling people to get on in Gwynedd, we will also continue to encourage partners, such as colleges, who work with us on these schemes to offer the vast majority of their provision through the medium of Welsh.”
As well as extending the apprenticeship scheme for three years, Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet has also approved a bid to fund the extension of the ‘Cynllun Yfory’ scheme for managers and experts, which offers career start-up opportunities for graduates.
Councillor Jeffreys added: “We are determined to offer the people of Gwynedd the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to thrive here in Gwynedd.
“I’m looking forward to seeing us appoint individuals to a variety of fields over the next few years, offering many people in Gwynedd exciting opportunities to begin their career path through the medium of Welsh.
"The Cabinet's decision and this investment is a major boost to this vision and we would encourage anyone with an interest to seize the opportunity when we start recruiting later in the year."
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