Customer Service Apprentice
Hastings Borough Council
East Sussex (TN34 3UY)
Closes in 18 days (Monday 29 September 2025)
Posted on 11 September 2025
Contents
Summary
Working in the Community Contact Centre you will strive to deliver excellent customer service to the public, face to face, by phone and email to resolve customer issues, from Council Tax to Homelessness. You will have some experience working with the public and be prepared to have challenging conversations. Working in our Hastings offices.
- Wage
-
£25,223 a year
- Training course
- Customer service practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
-
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:30am- 5.00pm
Friday 8:30am- 4:30pm
37 hours a week
- Start date
-
Wednesday 29 October 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 3 months
- Positions available
-
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 provide an efficient and effective, high-quality front-line service to the council’s customers regardless of access channel, i.e. face to face, phone, email or web services to proactively resolve customer issues
- To provide a front-line response to customer enquiries in accordance with all procedures to ensure resolution at first point of contact as required to avoid the necessity to transfer the customer to other departments and ensure high standards of customer care
- To obtain information and facts from the customer to record and distribute to relevant departments for their action including to input and maintain information through a range of databases and systems to ensure accurate and up to date information to effectively manage queries and services
- To assess, validate and assist in the completion of applications submitted to the council and to process in accordance with all procedures
- To accurately check and receipt income received by the council to ensure all finance received is properly accounted for and accurately credited to customer accounts
- Occasionally assisting visitors to the council as the main reception point, to direct them to correct venues/officers and to register them in compliance with fire & safety regulations
- Actively develop and maintain an extensive working knowledge of Council services and procedures
Where you'll work
Muriel Matters House
Breeds Place
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 3UY
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
EAST SUSSEX COLLEGE GROUP
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
You will be expected to work in HBC offices in Hastings Town Centre
More training information
- East Sussex College will provide the apprenticeship framework which will include Knowledge, Skills, Behaviour, Functional Skills (if required)
- Additional training from the employer will cover Microsoft 365, telephone system, specialist council tax and benefit systems, training on all services the community contact centre deals with, customer service training and conflict resolution training
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE in:
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
- Customer care skills
- Administrative skills
- Team working
- Non judgemental
Other requirements
1. Able to deal with situations under pressure with confidence, tact, understanding and diplomacy 2. Able to deal with difficult and confrontational customers, particularly over the telephone 3. Able to deal with complex enquiries within strict deadlines 4. GCSE English & Maths grade C / 4 or above (or equivalent qualifications) desirable Questions to candidate: 1. How would you make sure you deliver excellent customer service to customers? 2. How would you support a customer, who had a technical issue, who couldn’t use a website and you are on the phone?
About this employer
Hastings Borough Council serves as the local authority for the historic seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex. Operating from Muriel Matters House on the seafront, the council is responsible for key services including housing, planning, waste and recycling, licensing, and maintaining the town’s seafront and public spaces.
https://www.hastings.gov.uk/ (opens in new tab)
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
- Potential permanent full-time employment on successful completion of the apprenticeship
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
EAST SUSSEX COLLEGE GROUP
Kate Delany
kate.delany@escg.ac.uk
03030039821
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000341543.
Apply now
Closes in 18 days (Monday 29 September 2025)
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