You've chosen your countryside career and now it's time to get started - with an apprenticeship perhaps.

As well as being National Careers Week this week is also been National Apprenticeship Week (NAW 2019) 

National Apprenticeship Week 2019 takes place 4 to 8 March 2019. 

The Week is coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.  This year it is themed "Blaze a Trail" there has been a range of activities and events across the country all aimed at challenging the outdated views many people still hold about apprenticeships.

Sophie Hardwick from Apprenticemakers explains how to Grow your talented team with apprenticeships and counters some of those outdated ideas in this article from CJS Focus 

 

Being an apprentice is an excellent way to start your countryside career providing the practical learning needed to make your chosen career a success. Our local national Park, North York Moors, runs a very popular and highly successful apprenticeship scheme, they say that they receive around 100 applications for every place available.

Although not strictly speaking apprenticeship the Our Bright Futures programme runs along similar lines and is providing "a stepping stone to employment for young people", so writes Anna Maggs, Communications Officer for Our Bright Future. For more insight into the programme read her article here, complete with case studies. 

If you're thinking of become an apprentice or of setting up an apprentice scheme there are supporter guides available from the Education and Skills Funding Agency available here.

Current countryside apprenticeships are advertised with CJS here.