Apprentice Participation Worker
Kent County Council
Kent, West Malling
Closes in 14 days (Friday 19 September 2025)
Posted on 3 September 2025
Contents
Summary
The Virtual School Kent Participation Team works to help ensure that the views and opinions of young people and those who have left care are heard. You would be helping to run our activity days, meetings and events, and other county and local initiatives, supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes for other children and young people.
- Wage
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£19,216 a year
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Starting salary of £19,216 per annum which is equivalent to £9.96 per hour. Upon successful completion of the probation period, your salary will increase to £24,513 per annum.
- Training course
- Public service operational delivery officer (level 3)
- Hours
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Working week to be discussed at interview.
37 hours a week
- Start date
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Monday 6 October 2025
- Duration
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1 year 6 months
- Positions available
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1
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
- To act as a good role model to Children in Care and other young people, supporting their positive behaviour, and to have a positive influence on service delivery.
- To support young people’s council groups and forums, working directly with young people to encourage attendance and inclusion in group discussions, activities and other initiatives.
- To assist in the planning, organising and to participate actively on and participating activity days and residential trips for children and young people.
- To sit on young people’s interview panels, and to identify, and provide active support to other young people when they participate in interview panels.
- Provide support to children and young people on an individual or group basis, under the guidance of the Participation Team to develop confidence in expressing their own views.
- To inform and feedback to senior management, Members and other professionals to improve the service delivered to young
people. - To prepare presentations and flyers and to undertake administrative tasks to support the Virtual School Kent’s Participation Team, such as photocopying, maintaining and updating records and databases.
- To assist the Participation Team with projects and other initiatives.
- To fulfill the criteria of the apprenticeship qualification.
Where you'll work
You can select which locations you want to apply for in your application on Find an apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship is available in these locations:
- Brook House, Reeves Way, Whistable, Kent, CT5 3SS
- 8 Abbey Wood Road, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4YT
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL
Training course
Public service operational delivery officer (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Customer Service: Delivering services to a wide range of customers, including those most in need and vulnerable, recognising that some customers will need extra support to access and use services. You will be providing a professional service at the right time and in a non- judgmental way. This includes carrying out calculations based on information received and giving accurate advice and guidance to help citizens understand what they need to do
- Working together: Working well with your team, colleagues and others and developing productive working relationships to achieve individual, team and business results
- Gathering and managing information: Complying with data protection principles. Accurately reviewing, validating, processing and storing information from a range of sources and accurately using it to meet customers’ needs in a way they find clear and easy to understand. You may be analysing information for discrepancies, potential fraud or non-compliance. This could also support interviews and investigations
- Negotiation and influencing: Using tact and diplomacy to negotiate with individuals or businesses to ensure they comply with the rules, and reaching solutions that suit all parties and are right for the business
- Problem solving and decision making: Identifying problems quickly and using a range of techniques to solve them and stop them happening again. This includes preventing a customer having to contact us a number of times
- Tools and Equipment: Using IT systems to manage, share and store information. This includes using office equipment appropriately and reporting poor performance of services you use to do your job
- Professionalism, self management and awareness: Taking responsibility for your own actions. This includes being self-motivated, and planning work to make sure that tasks are completed and deadlines met
- Communciation Effectively: Understanding the importance of effective communication in the workplace and communicating effectively in different situations and communicating the best way to meet the needs of different audiences. This includes questioning and listening when carrying out interviews or investigations, and communicating in a clear and concise way using letters, e-mails or social media, over the phone or face-to-face.
Training schedule
Requirements
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
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Team working
- Initiative
- Patience
Other requirements
This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification. This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
About this employer
Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government. Below are 12 district councils and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 81 elected councillors. The chief executive and chief officers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the council.
Company benefits
Option to enrol in the Local Government Pension scheme 28 days paid annual leave per year Access to Kent Rewards programme
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
A Kent County Council Apprenticeship will give you the opportunity to earn a real salary and gain a real qualification whilst gaining valuable workplace skills and experience.
An opportunity has arisen for an Apprentice to join the Virtual School Kent’s Participation Team within Integrated Children’s Services.
This is a great opportunity to gain a level 3 qualification in Public Service Operational Delivery whilst working as an Apprentice in a large, diverse, rapidly changing organisation.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
Kent County Council
Ms Andrea Wood
andrea.wood@kent.gov.uk
03000 422544
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000340200.
Apply now
Closes in 14 days (Friday 19 September 2025)
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