Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council have a nationally-acclaimed, award-winning track record for providing opportunities for apprentices; and 24 year-old History graduate, David Rutherford from Billingham, is no exception.
Despite his degree, former Bede Sixth Form College student, David, found himself struggling with unemployment, unable to find work directly related to his qualification.
“I was becoming quite disheartened," says David. “You spend all that money to gain your degree and it was looking as though I'd never be able to use it in a direct way; unless I maybe stayed on in education even longer and trained as a teacher of History.
“Then, my Job Centre job coach told me about a Collections Apprentice position as part of the Kickstart programme with Redcar and Cleveland Council."
David applied immediately - and was snapped up for the role in May of this year.
The Government-funded Kickstart programme focuses on 16-25 year olds who are experiencing – or at risk of – long term unemployment. Assessed by job coaches at the Job Centre, successful candidates receive help with CVs, interview skills, job searches and training needs as part of their ongoing apprenticeship. These needs could be anything from driving lessons to first aid courses and may also include Maths and English tuition, depending on the apprentice.
“When Covid hit, that also hindered my job search," David adds, “so I was incredibly happy to be taken on for this role. I get to do all sorts, some of which is transferable to other jobs in terms of skills; other things which are specific to museum work and that you wouldn't expect is part of it! For example, pest management, which is part of ensuring items in the collections aren't damaged by any type of pest and are preserved properly.
“One of the best parts of the job has been working with children who visit the museum; seeing them smile and enjoy themselves whilst learning about a subject I'm passionate about – local history – is just brilliant. They could be our future historians!"
Current Collections Manager at Kirkleatham Museum, and David's mentor, Katie Brown said:
“David has been a really valuable addition to the team and has thrown himself into all aspects of museum work. His work helping to document and look after the collections has been particularly helpful, and hopefully he's learnt some valuable skills that will help with his future employment."
With 28 people in the council's first Kickstart cohort, the scheme is running so well that the Department of Work and Pensions have requested that Redcar and Cleveland take on more; something which is now in the pipeline.
Councillor Glyn Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “One of the things we are very proud of is that we have no upper age limit. Anyone who wants to train in a new role as an apprentice is a viable candidate for us because it is so important to ensure everyone is given opportunities to get on in life. Our applicants range in age from 16-60, though most are under 25.
“Our apprenticeships programme has won The Municipal Journal Award and The Princess Royal Training Award in 2019, which is testament to the hard work of our excellent team."
The beautiful Kirkleatham Museum features exhibitions on local history and heritage and is home to a treasure trove of artefacts and displays, such as the Saxon Princess exhibition, 'Steel Stories', World War I and II in our area and 'Fabric of the North', a temporary textiles and tapestries exhibition on display until January. It can be found off the A174, close to the newly-opened Kirkleatham Walled Garden. It is open Tuesday – Friday from 10am – 4:30pm and admission is free.