There are currently apprentices working across the Council in all directorates in a variety of roles.
This not only provides much-needed support for teams, but also offer a great platform for development, with many of our apprentices securing permanent contracts and progressing to more senior roles.
There are a number of apprenticeship opportunities available within the Council and I’d encourage anyone who thinks this might benefit themselves or their team to take a look.
Vale Communities for Work+ partnered with CELT+, the Youth Service, Regeneration, Careers Wales, Cardiff & Vale College (CAVC), and Barry Jobcentre Plus to host an Apprenticeship and Careers event at the Memo Arts Centre, Barry on Wednesday.
To ensure accessibility, free transport and staff costs were offered to all secondary schools in the Vale. Several schools arranged for Year 10, 11, 12, and 13 students to attend, while CAVC actively promoted the event to students who would benefit from participating.
A targeted social media marketing campaign was launched in the lead-up to the event, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement across the Vale and surrounding areas. This strategic promotion played a crucial role in attracting attendees and generating widespread interest.
Over 60 organisations were present in fields such as Public Services, Education, Construction, Engineering, Finance, Manufacturing, Childcare, Environmental Health, HR, Broadcast Media & Film, Transport, Aviation, and IT/Tech.
The event provided a valuable opportunity for attendees to engage directly with employers, learn about apprenticeship and job opportunities and gain insight into the recruitment processes and eligibility criteria.
Additionally, a range of educational, training, and support services were available to offer guidance and information.
CAVC students offered a range of taster sessions to showcase their skills and the opportunities available which included Automotive Engineering, Aircraft Engineering, Health and Care, Business and IT and Marketing and Hairdressing.
The event was a huge success, attracting over 1000 people across two sessions: 10am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm.
The late afternoon session saw a remarkable turnout from parents bringing their children, individuals attending after work and young people following school.
We are now nearly halfway through LGBT+ History Month, with this year’s theme being Activism and Social Change.
This is being recognised in a variety of ways across the Council, not least by GLAM, our group for LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies.
On that subject, Lee Boyland will soon step down as Chair of the network so I wanted to thank him for his work in the role.
There is no doubt the profile and influence of GLAM has grown significantly in recent years and Lee is a big reason for that progress. Well done Lee, and thank you for your efforts.
Next, I wanted to mention Shared Lives, a scheme which helps vulnerable adults to receive support within a safe family environment.
Approved Shared Lives Carers open their own family homes to the person needing support.
The aim is to help people live their best lives, their way, in their own communities whilst also promoting independence and developing new skills.
Paul Marchant, Anna Seldon, Rebecca Welch, CeriAnne Gratton, Sarah Frayne, Sophie Delahaye, Eva Leahy-Koska, Kathryn Walker-Ellis, Richard Roberts and Karen Rogers do fantastic work in this area and are always looking for new carers.
Do you have a spare bedroom and are you looking for a life-changing opportunity to support someone in your own home?
Why not join Shared Lives and become a Carer?
Shared Lives recruits carers from all walks of life. The service welcomes any age or background, single people, couples and families with or without children.
It also welcomes referrals from all teams within social services that may be able to offer a suitable placement.
The scheme recently ran a Have Your Say event in Barry, which enabled people to share their views on the service and provide feedback.
The event was very well attended and a great opportunity to discuss how Shared Lives is working for people the service is currently supporting and ways to improve it in the future.
Lastly, applications are now open for the Childcare Offer for Wales.
This offers funded childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds and those in higher education.
Financial support for children born between 01 January 2022 and 31 March that year can begin from 28 April.
More information is available on the Council website or by calling 03000 628628.
Lastly, as always, thank you very much for your efforts this week, they are always very much appreciated.
For those not in work, enjoy a relaxing and restful couple of days off.
Diolch yn fawr iawn,
Rob.