We believe in supporting our employees with their career progression and we are committed to offering our employees a wide range of learning and development opportunities. With this in mind, we are currently developing a range of apprenticeship opportunities. You can read more about our plans in the 'Apprenticeships at the Council of the Isles of Scilly' leaflet attached to the right of this page.
How to apply for an apprenticeship at the Council of the Isles of Scilly
You can find all of our apprenticeship vacancies and instructions on how to apply on the ‘jobs at the Council’ page of our website Jobs at the Council | Council of the ISLES OF SCILLY
We encourage you to apply for an apprenticeship with us if you are:
- aged 16 or over (there is no upper age limit)
- not already in full time education
- keen to gain real-world workplace experience and learn new skills from knowledgeable staff
- keen to achieve a nationally recognised qualification whilst being paid a full wage
What an apprenticeship at the Council can offer
The Council is one of the largest employers on Scilly and is responsible for delivering a wide range of services that keep our islands clean and thriving, and our residents and visitors safe and well.
We aim to offer apprenticeships in teams which make a real difference to people’s lives in a variety of areas, which could include
- Customer service
- Planning
- Housing
- Environment services
- Children’s services
- Adult social care
- Aviation
As an ambitious council in a unique location, we can also offer apprentices the chance to get involved in exciting new developments and projects as they arise, whilst helping to make the islands a great place to live and work at all times.
Apprenticeships are offered at varying levels of qualification (from Level 2 to Level 7) and can take between one and four years to complete.
As a Council apprentice, you will be able to access the same range of benefits as all of our employees. This list of benefits can be viewed on the ‘jobs at the Council’ page.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about apprenticeships at the Council or how a particular apprenticeship could work for you, please don’t hesitate to call the team on 01720424434 or email humanresources@scilly.gov.uk
We’d also love to hear from you if you have any ideas for apprenticeships which could be offered at the Council in the future.
Don’t just take our word for it! Read what our Council apprentices have to say about their experience
Mike Kershaw, Level 3 Team Leader Apprentice
"My name is Michael Kershaw and I started working for the Council of the Isles of Scilly almost 3 years ago. My job role is Supervisor for the Maintenance & Repair team.
I am undertaking a Level 3 Team Leader Apprenticeship which I started in October 2024. I chose this particular qualification as I felt that it would help me achieve my goals within the Council whilst also teaching me essential skills that I can take with me throughout the rest of my career. When the opportunity arose for me to do an Apprenticeship the offer was simply too good to turn down!
As part of the ‘off the job training’ I am able to use most Fridays as a study day which allows me to join the taught sessions through Teams video calls. I also use this time to research, write assignments and do anything else apprenticeship related. This is great as it means I am able to complete the apprenticeship during work time. It also means I don't have countless trips to and from the mainland, which with a growing young family, would have been very difficult. I really appreciate the way the apprenticeship has been structured as it allows a great work / life balance.
Taking the Team Leader qualification has really opened my eyes to the different structures of businesses and a whole range of other things that I hadn’t considered before, such as leadership styles, company values and organisational cultures. It’s made me much more confident in my role as Supervisor as it’s the first time I’ve had any formal training that benefits me in my role. I can also immediately apply what I’ve learnt in the sessions in my day-to-day work. I’m very grateful to the Council for offering me this opportunity.
I would highly recommend an Apprenticeship to anyone within the Council as it has already been an incredible benefit to me, and I haven’t even completed the course yet! The skills and knowledge you learn will serve you a lifetime."
Jacob Pursglove, Level 3 Marketing Assistant Apprentice
Jacob is currently working for the Council of the Isles of Scilly’s Corporate Properties department. Here’s what he had to say about his route into his current role:
“In 2020, I was working for the Council’s Customer Hub, and was helping to manage a number of social media sites and webpages. I also helped produce posters for a few different departments to advertise their services. I asked if I could be put on some training to help with my marketing skills, and I was offered to be a part of a Level 3 Marketing Assistant Apprenticeship through Truro - Penwith College. I was extremely grateful to be offered a placement, as I had been hoping to do something similar for a long time.
This was the same year that Coronavirus took hold of the world, and it was also when online video calls and the like really took off. Due to this, I was able to take part in this apprenticeship mostly online, something that I was extremely thankful for. My wife had given birth earlier in the year, and I didn’t want to have to juggle work and travelling to the mainland with a new baby.
I took part in a weekly online lesson, and had time out of my normal work schedule to work on the apprenticeship assignments. I also had the option of going to the mainland for some practical seminars, which I took part in to learn more on video editing and producing good PowerPoint presentations.
I completed my Apprenticeship in March 2022 with a Pass.
The apprenticeship was really rewarding, I learnt a lot from the taught sessions, and was able to put my new skills and knowledge into practice to enhance my social media posts, improve my design work, and help me in my copywriting for Council documents and emails.
I would highly recommend an apprenticeship through the Council of the Isles of Scilly. It gave me essential skills that I still use in my current role and it enabled me to continue with my day to day work but also still be able to spend time with my family.”