Newham council employees are runner-ups in London wide Apprenticeship Awards

Apprentices working for the Mayor of Newham and council executives became runner-ups at a capital wide apprenticeship awards ceremony.

Newham council employees Holly Barratt and Santosh Sagoo were recognised at this year’s London Borough Apprenticeship Awards organised by London Councils, the body overseeing the capital’s 32 boroughs.

Holly, who began working as a youth trainee in Robin Wales’ office last year, was nominated in the ‘best progression by an apprentice’ category. She has been responsible for managing post and emails, and updating the Mayor’s contact list. She also ensured information from mayoral surgeries was forwarded to different services. During the Jubilee celebrations and and leading up to the Olympic Games, she helped manage the Mayor’s busy schedule.

She now holds a permanent position as a business support assistant.

Holly said: “I’ve learnt so much and my confidence has improved. I now look forward to using the skills I’ve learnt in my new role within the council.”

Santosh was nominated for ‘best manager or mentor’. She is responsible for ensuring professional support is provided to executive directors and their teams to enable them to deliver the council priority projects. During the last three apprentice recruitment campaigns, Santosh has appointed eight trainees to assist the executive support team and provided the trainees with feedback and support.

Newham’s Youth Employment Scheme offers two year placements for 16-18-year-olds, living in the borough, across a range of council services such as business admin, ICT, customer services and engineering.