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Alisha Carass, who attended the local Government Apprentice of the Year event. There, she gained confidence, skills, and new perspectives. Although she initially felt nervous, the support from her team encouraged her to speak up and engage in discussions. As a result, they became one of the ‘winning teams’ at the 2024 event.
The 2024 Local Government Apprentice of the Year event saw over 100 apprentices from across the country take part in a series of challenges. With the fast-paced structure and the number of apprentices in attendance, it is understandable that apprentices may feel some apprehension about being able to contribute their ideas, showcase their skills and the role they might play in their team during the day.
However, when it comes to assessing apprentices during the event, the development leads aren’t looking for who dominates the team or shouts the loudest. Instead, they are looking at how apprentices collaborate, support and encourage each other. It is for this reason that in an addition to the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ there is also an award for the ‘winning team’.
“It is a day of creativity and critical thinking which is likely to put you out of your comfort zone!”
Alisha Carass, a Level 3 Business Administrator apprentice from Devon County Council chose to attend the event in the hope of gaining confidence, skills and new perspectives. As someone who feels they aren’t always very confident, Alisha describes how she felt nervous and self-conscious on the morning of the event and once the event got underway, the most challenging part for her was having the confidence to speak up.
Despite her initial apprehension, Alisha recalls how supportive her team were in alleviating her worries. She said, “I feel like my team was open to everyone sharing ideas as collaboration was key in each of the tasks. We knew it was important for all of us to have the chance to contribute.” According to Alisha, as the day progressed and she became more confident, she found speaking up got easier and by the end, she said, “it was like speaking to a group I knew well.”
Seeing the overall finished product was very rewarding, as it showcased a summary of our combined efforts
This team support and encouragement is one of the many reasons that Alisha and her team went on to be crowned one of the ‘winning teams’ at the 2024 event. Since attending the event, Alisha reflects that confidence building and being outside of your comfort zone are key take-aways from the event and how the day demonstrated that everyone’s perspective is important.
Alisha’s three pieces of advice for an apprentice thinking of attending, are
