A number of Apprenticeships are being offered by the City of York Council. Details can be found on the national web site http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/

What are Apprenticeships?
As employees, apprentices earn a wage and work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills. Off the job, usually on a day-release basis, apprentices receive training to work towards nationally recognised qualifications. Anyone living in England, over 16 years-old and not in full-time education can.
Apprenticeships can take between one and four years to complete depending on the level of Apprenticeship, the apprentices’ ability and the industry sector. The minimum salary is £2.60 per hour (from 1st October 2012 will change to £2.65 per hour); however, many apprentices earn significantly more.

Who are they for?
Apprenticeships are open to all age groups above 16years-old whether you are just leaving school, have been working for years or are seeking to start a new career. You just need to be living in England and not taking part in full-time education.
There may be different entry requirements depending on the Apprenticeship and the industry sector. However competition for places with employers can be fierce, so you will need to show that you are committed, and aware of your responsibilities to both yourself and the company who would employ you. You also need to be happy to work as both part of a team and individually, and be able to use your own initiative.

There are some unlikely vacancies being advertised by the York Council.

see list here
• Business Administration Apprentice (Leaders Office) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) Working in this role will require flexibility and you will need to be a team player. An interest in politics, public communications and decision-making at the local or national levels of Government would each be advantageous (sense of humour an advantage?)
• Business Administration Apprentice (Legal Services) (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) We need an enthusiastic apprentice to help us keep our files and IT records in order, we’ve just moved on to a new computer system, and there are opportunities to help us design how we use the system and retrieve data.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Visit York) (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) Visit York work closely with the industry and partners, supported by City of York Council, to maximise the economic benefits of tourism (presently 7mn visitors, £443mn spend, 23,000 jobs created)
• Business Administration Apprentice (Performance) (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) It’s an unpredictable, fast-paced and busy place to work so we’re looking for people with enthusiasm, commitment and the confidence to tackle anything that comes their way.
• Communications and Media Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Marketing We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join the Communications and Media team. The successful apprentice will be trained to write effectively and accurately, support web-based and social media communications.
• Grounds Person/Greenkeeper Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Horticulture (Lantra) You will learn about fine turf maintenance and contribute towards the provision of a Green Flag Award wining service.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Economic Development) (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) It’s an unpredictable, fast-paced and busy place to work so we’re looking for people with enthusiasm, commitment and the confidence to tackle anything that comes their way.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Major Development Projects & Initiatives) (York) with City of York Council 1 Vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) From design and heritage renaissance to town and community planning, we help to deliver a wide range of development and regeneration projects within the city. Working with officers within the council and sometimes directly with developers and the community
• Business Administration Apprentice (Workforce Development Unit) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy Business and Administration (CFA) You will be part of a team that manages any courses that are available to this workforce, liaising between trainers, delegates and venues to ensure that all receive an excellent service
• Business Administration Apprentice (City & Environmental Services) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) An exciting opportunity to be part of the most largest and diverse workforce in the city, contributing towards the provision of an efficient and effective administrative support service across a wide range of areas within the City Environmental Services.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Sport & Active Leisure) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) You will be part of a team with a Mission to create more quality opportunities for more people to be more active in an inclusive community facility. You will be part of a friendly team, always ready to help, welcoming people to our centre.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Customer Access & Assessment Team) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) An exciting opportunity to be part of the most largest and diverse workforce in the city, contributing towards the provision of an efficient and effective administrative support service in Adult Social Services.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Adult & Community Education) (York) with City of York Council1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) The job will involve working with a range of staff at different levels within our team and there will be opportunities to work on specific projects, where you will take responsibility for the project from start to finish.
• Business Administration Apprentice (York Training Centre) (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) The post would particularly suit anyone interested in a career in youth work, teaching or training. There are three other admin staff who will train and support you in what you do.
• Business Administration Apprentice (Business Support, Communities & Neighbourhoods) (York) with City of York Council 2 vacancies York Business and Administration (CFA) Your exact duties will depend on the support team you are working with but could involve for example, organising resources, typing up meeting documents, inputting information onto spreadsheets or bespoke software and handling daily post
• Cafe Apprentice (Rowntree Park Reading Cafe) (York) with City of York Council 2 vacancies York Hospitality and Catering (People 1st) Summer 2012 will see the opening of a new reading cafe in Rowntree Park and we are looking for a team of highly motivated, enthusiastic and extremely customer focussed individuals to deliver a high quality service to the people of York.
• Cafe Apprentice (York Explore & Acomb Explore Library) (York) with City of York Council 2 vacancies York Hospitality and Catering (People 1st) We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join our library service, working in the explore cafés serving food and drink.
• Events Management Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Business and Administration (CFA) You will work alongside a busy events team gaining experience in event planning, production and budgeting. You will also gain experience in all aspects of Festival, market and fringe activity organisation
• Finance Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 2 vacancies York Accounting (FSP) We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join our financial services team, contributing towards the provision of an efficient and effective financial accounting, information and advisory service
• Leisure Assistant Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Instructing Exercise and Fitness We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join our friendly team. To contribute towards the effective operation of the Energise Centre, ensuring customer satisfaction, providing efficient operational performance of the facility
• Library and Information Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 2 vacancy York Libraries Records and IM Services We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join our library service, contributing towards a consistently high quality service to the citizens of York and other users of the City of York’s Library service.
• ICT (Information, Communication & Technology) Apprentice (York) with City of York Council1 vacancy York IT, Software, Web & Telecoms Professionals We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual to join our ICT team, contributing towards the provision of an efficient and effective department under close supervision through the training, knowledge and skills development acquired throughout
• Park Ranger Apprentice (York) with City of York Council 1 vacancy York Environmental Conservation (Lantra) During the period of employment you will receive training and support and work on York’s Green Flag winning sites, the Strays and Statutory Nature Reserves