APPRENTICESHIPS should be used more effectively by Bradford Council, a team of council leaders from across the country has said.

The team, comprising leaders from Wigan, Newcastle, Luton and Hackney councils as well as experts from the Local Government Association, spent four days with Bradford Council.

They interviewed 260 people to see what the authority was doing well and where it could improve.

And while they praised the positive attitude of both staff and councillors, they called on Bradford Council to change the way it works with its apprentices.

The peer review team said there seemed to be “no apparent plan” for how to use the new national apprenticeship levy on larger employers to increase the number of apprentices in the Council.

The report says: “This is linked to a wider issue of how apprentices are viewed - there is almost a sense of a paternalistic role of seeing apprentices as one-year positions to provide a solid start to a career before moving on, as there is an assumption that there will not be opportunities for permanent positions within the council.”

It says instead, apprentices could play a role in bringing new ideas into the Council, be identified as future leaders or help to fill hard-to-fill posts.

The report also says Bradford Council uses two corporate logos, and urges them to keep “the more historic crest brand” and phase out its other logo to avoid confusion.

There was praise for both council staff, who were described as “loyal, passionate and hardworking”, and elected councillors, who were “committed and fully engaged in the work of the council”.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe and chief executive Kersten England were singled out for particular praise.

The team’s report says: “The council leader and chief executive are seen as visible, energetic, inspiring symbols of the improvement journey the council is on.”

Bradford Council has already begun work on implementing the team’s recommendations.

Ms England said: “This peer review has given us the opportunity to be challenged by a ‘critical friend’ and this is essential in our journey to be the best that we can be for the people of the district.

“I know that there is so much positive work taking place in Bradford and it is great to see that this has been recognised along with the challenges that we face in the future.”

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