At the Local Government Apprentice of the Year event, there are a few of different awards on offer to apprentices. These include Apprentice of the Year and the social media winner. However, the judges are not just looking at each apprentice individually but are also assessing how well individuals are working together in order to award their ‘best overall team’.
During the 2023 event, there were over 100 apprentices in attendance, who were then split into 14 teams. During the afternoon, each team was judged during an activity which asked them to consider how they would communicate the ideas they had generated in a previous activity. This previous activity had been focused around devising a net zero plan for a council. Each team then had to collate their ideas into a communication strategy document which was later reviewed by a panel of judges. This group task required apprentices to network in order to share, support and collate each other’s ideas.
Developing skills that are crucial for making a successful team, such as networking, is one of the main reasons that many apprentices opt to attend the Local Government Apprentice of the Year event. This was certainly the case for one of the ‘best overall team’ winners Adam Greenwood. Adam, who is a level 3 Team Leader apprentice at Norfolk County Council, hoped that by attending the event he’d get to use the networking opportunities on offer to meet other apprentices. Since attending the event, Adam has reflected that the networking was still one of the top things that he was able to take away from the event and that the most rewarding part of the day was seeing everyone’s ideas coming together and how everyone worked so well as a team.
Take this amazing opportunity and meet some other fantastic apprentices and guest speakers.
Adam Greenwood
Another one of this year’s ‘best overall team’ winners was Emily Patterson, a Level 3 Business Administration Apprentice from Bath and North East Somerset Council. Prior to the event Emily hoped that she would get the opportunity to network and learn more about what apprentices are doing across other local authorities, as well as focusing on her own personal development. After the event, Emily reflected how rewarding it was to feel a sense of accomplishment in having completed various strategies and actions plans and how winning the best overall group prize validated the effort that her team had put into the day. Emily also noted the value of team work.
Working as a team can sometimes bring about stronger results than working individually.
Emily Patterson