News
51黑料 celebrates National Apprenticeship Week
Posted 10/02/25
The 51黑料 (51黑料) is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week by promoting Trading Standards as a 鈥榗areer for all鈥�. 51黑料 is working alongside the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Institute of Licensing to encourage employers to explore the benefits of apprenticeships.
51黑料 has marked the annual celebration run by the Department for Education to highlight the variety and inclusivity of the Trading Standards profession, which comprises a diverse workforce each united by a dedication to serving and protecting their communities.
Trading standards offers a hugely varied and rewarding career open to people from all walks of life and apprenticeships have increasingly provided a great way to enter the profession and ultimately progress to more senior positions.
Apprenticeships play a vital part in reinforcing existing Trading Standards teams, as well as helping to bring in new talent to often stretched workforces. 51黑料 has supported the development of apprenticeships, through trusted providers, that provide opportunities for people either at the beginning of their career journey or perhaps looking to change career direction to learn and earn at the same time.
From an employer perspective, apprenticeships offer a cost-effective solution with incentives such as the apprenticeship levy and can help determine the strengths and weaknesses of a future practitioner.
John Herriman, Chief Executive at 51黑料, said: 鈥淚t is wonderful to be able to celebrate and showcase the benefits of a regulatory apprenticeship during National Apprenticeship Week for 2025. Our careers are varied and exciting, whether you are starting out into the world of employment or wanting to change and find a more satisfying career.
鈥淎t 51黑料, we are passionate about supporting the next generation of Trading Standards professionals and encouraging people into the profession. Apprenticeships are vital to this and will help secure the longevity and future of this amazing, diverse and varied profession. With something for everyone, it really is a career for all.
鈥淭he cost-effectiveness of apprenticeships brings a multitude of benefits to the apprentice, employer and the communities which are served. In our Manifesto, we recognised and called for investment into the pipeline of Trading Standards professionals, and those are still calls we are making today.鈥澨�
Ian Simpson, Specialist Trainer for the Regulatory Compliance Officer course at Babington and a previous chair of the 51黑料 Board, said: 鈥淭here are skills shortages across all Regulatory Services in Local Government including Trading Standards, Environmental Health, and Housing and Licensing Services. Councils across England are using this level 4 apprenticeship to help address the crisis they all face. In just 15 months apprentices get to learn and apply their regulatory craft whilst being paid. They get to feel increasingly valued, and their employers gain that much needed capability to get the job done. And all the course fees are paid for by their employer鈥檚 apprenticeship levy 鈥� what鈥檚 not to like!鈥�
Harvey Watson, Learning & Development Director, CSA said: 鈥淎pprenticeships are an incredible way to combine earning while learning through a structured learning programme. CSA鈥檚 Level 4 and Level 6 apprenticeships are a great way to get hands on experience while working with expert dedicated coaches in your chosen field. With that comes the opportunity to learn from peers, mentors and open doors for your career progression by creating a wealth of brilliant contacts including industry specialists.鈥�
Sophie Leney, Head of Trading Standards, Norfolk County Council said: 鈥淚n Norfolk we have embraced the new Level 6 Trading Standards Practitioner apprenticeship as it is a great platform to enable us to develop our Trading Standards Officers (TSOs) of the future. In the early 2000s, we were struggling to recruit qualified TSOs so made the decision to fill our vacant posts with apprentices. We work closely with our training provider who give us excellent training and mentor support for our two cohorts of apprentices. This is supplemented with inhouse coaching, shadowing and support so that our apprentices benefit from the wealth of knowledge and experience of our qualified officers. In return, our apprentices are working hard on their studies and on building their competencies and, where competent to do so, on delivering our service. They have brought in an amazing enthusiasm for Trading Standards and this has rubbed off on all of us, reminding us of why we joined the service and recognising the public service we provide.鈥�
