SPONSORED CONTENT: FCO Services celebrates apprentice success

National Apprenticeship Week (February 6 – 10) provided FCO Services with a perfect opportunity to celebrate its work with apprentices over the last 40 years. The organisation, which is a trading fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has trained 340 apprentices since the 1960s.

To mark the achievement, a special “Celebrating Apprentices” event was held at the FCO Services HQ in Hanslope Park, near Milton Keynes. It gave guests, including two local MPs, a chance to meet the current crop of 29 apprentices, and also launched the
2012 apprentice recruitment drive.

Adding value at every step

“FCO Services provides secure technical support for the UK government’s frontline diplomacy in 260 locations around the world,” said FCO Services Chief Executive Chris Moxey. “Our apprenticeship programme is central to this, because it ensures that we obtain, and retain, essential skills now and as an investment in the future.”

National Apprenticeship Service Director Karen Woodward, who spoke at the event, noted that apprentices tend to stick with the organisations that train them – and this has certainly been the case with FCO Services. Many people who joined as an apprentice or trainee have gone on to a senior role within the organisation.

Inspiration and security

For many of FCO Services’ current apprentices, the promise of future career development is a major attraction of the apprenticeship scheme. “I joined because I wanted job security and clear opportunities to progress my career,” said 49-year-old Moray, a second year engineering apprentice. “I hope to spend the rest of my working life at FCO Services.”

Moray’s sentiments were echoed by other apprentices – including those fresh out of full-time education. Carla, Jack and Steve are all 19, and agreed that they joined FCO Services in the hope that it would provide them with a job for life. They also said that the opportunities for international travel were a major appeal of working for the organisation.

Maintaining a skilled workforce

“I am very impressed with the way FCO Services has grasped the need for a strong apprenticeship programme,” Milton Keynes North MP Mark Lancaster told the Civil Service Live Network. “The organisation is at the front of the curve when it comes to developing the skills of its workforce.”

Lancaster’s views were echoed by Milton Keynes South MP Iain Stewart, who said that he was pleased to honour FCO Services’ work with apprentices. “Apprenticeships are rightly being seen as a valid alternative to higher education,” he remarked. “Good apprenticeship programmes like the FCO Services one add to the options available for young people once they leave full-time education.”

A showcase for success

By showcasing the work of its apprentices and trainees from the past and present, FCO Services demonstrated the value of apprenticeship schemes to the public sector. They equip people with key skills, as well as engendering loyalty and commitment. Indeed, if the trainees whose work was celebrated at Hanslope Park are anything to go by, an apprenticeship is a sure fire way of preparing employees for a lifelong career in public service.

To find out more about the FCO Services apprentice scheme, click here

fco, foreign & commonwealth office, apprentice

Last updated 94 days ago by Civil Service World