Customer Service Apprentice (Frontline)
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Oldbury (B69 3DB)
Closes in 25 days (Friday 12 September 2025 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 18 August 2025
Contents
Summary
Are you friendly, enthusiastic, and passionate about helping people? Sandwell Council is offering a range of exciting Customer Service Apprenticeships in Frontline Services where you’ll gain valuable experience, develop key skills, and work towards a Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner qualification.
- Wage
-
£14,526.20 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
- Training course
- Customer service practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
-
Monday - Friday with hours varying between 8am - 5.30pm
37 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 3 November 2025
- Duration
-
1 year
- Positions available
-
20
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Whether you're welcoming visitors to a popular local attraction, supporting residents at a care facility, handling enquiries in a busy reception area, or helping families through key life events in registration services - there’s a role to suit your interests and career goals.
Opportunities Available In:
- Forge Mill Farm Visitor Services - assist in the Farm Shop, Play Barn and events, ensuring a fun and welcoming visitor experience
- Harvest View Intermediate Care Facility - support visitors and staff with reception-desk queries and admin support
- HR Frontline Services - help with staff enquiries and assist the admin team through our new Oracle Fusion system
- Registration Services - General & Bereavement Services - Assist in registering births, deaths, and marriages or support bereaved families with funeral, cremation, and memorial arrangements, delivering services with care and sensitivity
- Corporate Reception Areas - represent the Council by assisting visitors to the building with a wide range of services and enquiries
- Sandwell Adult & Family Learning Service (SAFL) - Support learners and staff across adult education centres. You’ll assist with enrolments, course information, materials preparation, and general admin
- Grants Support Team - help ensure the smooth administration of grant funding to communities across Sandwell
- Appointeeship Unit - play a vital role in supporting vulnerable adults who are unable to manage their own finances
- Business Management service (Adult Social Care) - assisting senior officers and the management teams by providing administrative support allowing them to support our vulnerable service users (clients)
- Democratic Services unit - help organise council meetings, prepare agenda and minutes, and support councillors in their important roles
- Business and Member services - provide day-to-day support to elected members, including the Mayor of Sandwell
- Sandwell Youth Service - assist with the engagement of young people in the local area and provide effective financial, administrative and clerical support within a busy office environment to the Youth Service
This is a brilliant opportunity to kick-start your Customer Service career in frontline services of local government working in hospitality, adult social care, HR, youth service, democratic/member services or administration – with real progression opportunities and the chance to make a difference in your community.
Where you'll work
Freeth Street
Oldbury
B69 3DB
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
SANDWELL COLLEGE
Training course
Customer service practitioner (level 2)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
- Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
- Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrate patience and calmness.
- Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
- Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
- Maintain informative communication during service recovery.
Training schedule
At the end you will gain a Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner Qualification. The apprenticeship training will be delivered in the workplace, as you will receive visits from a college assessor. The apprenticeship will also include a proportion of 20% Off The Job Training and a robust programme of Mandatory Apprentice Training provided by Sandwell Council to include: Safeguarding, Prevent, Fire Awareness, Data Protection & Cyber Security and Equality & Diversity.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- English (grade 9-4/A-C)
- Maths (grade 9-3/A-D)
Other in:
- English (grade Level 2)
- Maths (grade Level 1)
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Data Protection
- Flexibility
- Empathy/Sympathy
- Confidentiality
- Professionalism
- Respect for others
Other requirements
Proof of qualification certificates will be required during the recruitment process. Please be aware that you will come into contact with sensitive information, of which data security must be maintained. You will need to be flexible and be very confident in talking to people at all levels. You must be prepared to adhere with Council Policies including the Data Protection Act. We reserve the right to close vacancies prior to their advertised date, if we receive a large number of applications. Therefore, you are strongly advised to complete and return your application as soon as possible.
About this employer
Sandwell is a large, multicultural metropolitan borough situated in the heart of the Black Country, to the west of Birmingham, within the West Midlands conurbation and with a population of over 280,000. The Council is one of the largest employers in the Borough with employees in a variety of occupations, providing a comprehensive range of services. For more information about Sandwell Council’s apprenticeship programme and our recruitment process please visit our YouTube channel. Find out more information on Sandwell’s Values and Behaviours on the council’s webpage. For more information on careers in local government you can view a copy of the Local Government Career Guide.
http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/apprenticeships (opens in new tab)
After this apprenticeship
This apprenticeship is a fixed term 12-month contract and at the end you will gain a Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner Qualification. However, the skills, knowledge and experience gained in this apprenticeship will allow you to gain future opportunities in the sector.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
SANDWELL COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000335755.
Apply now
Closes in 25 days (Friday 12 September 2025 at 11:59pm)
Sign in with your GOV.UK One Login to apply.