About the Borough This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned. Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer. Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink. Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other. We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand. Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK. About the Role We have a new and exciting apprenticeship opportunity within our Human Resources Service. In this role you will be responsible for delivering an efficient, responsive and professional service to our customers, which includes staff at all levels within the Council as well as external stakeholders. You will work in our Temporary Accommodation Housing Acquisitions Project team and help us to deliver a new Strategy for the service. This is a trainee role and full training will be provided to help you develop the professional competencies necessary to be a trainee property viewer to help the Council increase its housing stock. About Us We are looking for hard-working, motivated and enthusiastic people to join our apprenticeship scheme. Regardless of your age, previous experience or qualifications (although you must be at least 16 years of age and not in full-time education), we are welcoming applications from those that show potential, determination and a drive to succeed. In return we can give you the opportunity to kick-start your career in public sector Housing under the management of our skilled and experienced staff, whilst earning, learning and achieving nationally recognised qualifications at the same time. About You We’re looking for someone who is organised, with excellent communication skills, good IT skills, good attention to detail, enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn. You will need to be highly mobile, with a full drivers licence and have access to transport in order to be able to travel across the borough and neighbouring locations. This is an opportunity to get involved in a project with real social purpose, the outcome of which will make a real difference to the lives of local residents. Please note, in order to qualify for apprenticeship funding you must meet the following criteria: Hold a GCSE level C/equivalent in Maths and English and be able to present original qualification certificates - if you do not hold these qualifications/certificates you must be committed to complete these via functional skills assessments as part of the apprenticeship. Only apply for an apprenticeship unrelated to any qualifications they hold at the same or higher level than the apprenticeship they wish to apply for. The apprenticeship being applied for must be unrelated in subject and content from the qualification already held. Not be enrolled on another funded apprenticeship or another funded further education or higher education programme at the time you start your new apprenticeship. Have the right to work and study in England and be one of the following: A citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) or have the right to abode in the UK and have been resident in the EEA for at least the previous three years on the first day of your apprenticeship. A non-EEA citizen with permission from the UK government to live in the UK, (not for educational purposes) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of learning.