Chloe's Journey as a Modern Apprentice

Chloe joined North Ayrshire Council in May 2025, starting her career as an apprentice with Housing. Chloe describes her journey below:

"I started with North Ayrshire Council through their apprenticeship programme in May 2025 within the Housing Service. Before beginning my role, I completed a week of pre-apprenticeship training, which helped me understand the expectations of working in customer service as well as the standards expected by my future colleagues.

I began working within the Largs and Kilbirnie Housing Offices, where I developed my skills in a demanding and fast-paced environment.

As an apprentice, I was encouraged to aim high and continuously develop my skills. I gained experience using a range of systems, including rent management and housing application administration for North Ayrshire residents. This helped me expand my knowledge while ensuring I followed the correct policies and procedures.

Working within the Housing Sector enabled me to build confidence when speaking with members of the local community. Being based across two offices also gave me an understanding of the differing levels of housing supply and demand within these areas.

During my apprenticeship, I completed my housing qualification through a combination of workplace learning and training days in Glasgow. These training sessions allowed me to meet people from other local authorities and housing associations, where we shared experiences, discussed differences in practice, and learned from one another.

I completed the first half of my qualification three months ahead of schedule, which gave me the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities within the office and build strong working relationships across the department.

When an opportunity became available within my own office, I sought support from the EQUAL Supported Employment Programme. Through this programme, I received interview preparation support and participated in mock interviews, which helped me put the advice into practice and build my confidence.

Following several interviews, I was offered a position as a Housing Assistant within the Largs office. With support from colleagues in other offices, I was able to further develop the knowledge and skills I had gained during my apprenticeship while successfully managing additional responsibilities."

Find out how Working North Ayrshire can support young people into employment by visiting our opportunities page.