BARNSLEY Council hosted its first apprenticeship graduation ceremony last week to celebrate the achievements of the 69 colleagues who have achieved a qualification.

The apprentice graduates were invited to the town hall reception rooms to attend a special ceremony, where they were presented with their certificates and acknowledged for their hard work and dedication.

Apprenticeships have been completed in a whole host of areas, ranging from leadership and management to accountancy, social work and construction management.

Coun Caroline Makinson, deputy leader of the council, said: “I was over the moon to be a part of our first apprenticeship graduation celebration and to personally congratulate our colleagues for their hard work, commitment, and dedication.

“Undertaking an apprenticeship, alongside their day-to-day job and other life commitments is no mean feat, so our graduates really deserve this recognition.

“They’ve shown real determination and resilience along their individual learning journeys but having spoken to a number of the graduates, it was well worth it, which is wonderful to hear.”

Coun Robert Frost, cabinet spokesperson for core services, added: “We are fully committed to our learning and development offer as we strive to support our employees’ professional development to be the best they can be.

“Our employees are our biggest asset and contribute towards making the council the successful, award-winning organisation it is.

“It’s therefore so important that they feel supported in their professional and personal development and apprenticeships are an excellent way to do this.”