Customer Contact Apprentice

Summary

To work as part of a very busy Customer Support Team based at Tendring District Council, Pier Avenue, Clacton on Sea. The L2 Apprenticeship role is aimed at those with a keen interest in Customer Service. Candidates should be enthusiastic, self-motivated, organised and be able to work on their own initiative.

Annual wage: £12,313.60 a year
Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Training course: Customer service practitioner (level 2)
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8.45am - 5.15pm. Friday, 8.45am - 4.45pm.
37 hours a week
Possible start date: Friday 1 November
Duration: 1 Year 3 Months
Positions available: 1

Work

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

Covering a wide range of functions, no two days are ever the same. The post holder will be dealing with all manner of enquiries covering Housing Benefit and Council Tax, Environmental matters, including missed waste, also Private Sector Housing and those in Housing crisis to name but a few.

The main duties will also include raising service requests on specialist software systems, completing all necessary paperwork and following administration procedures, together with recording personal details within the guidelines set out by the General Data Protection Regulations.

Other duties will include:

Switchboard support
Reception support
General administrative functions, including emails, data processing, stat recording etc.
General office duties, including photocopying and scanning
Post opening, collection and distribution

Full training will be given on all aspects of the role, including the ICT applications used.

Where you’ll work

88-90 Pier Avenue

Clacton-On-Sea

CO15 1TN

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

College or training organisation

TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL

Your training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Equal to GCSE

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.

Your training plan

Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship qualification
Delivery will be in the workplace with an assessor or coach through a combination of assessing, coaching, training and mentoring
The minimum duration on the apprenticeship is 12 months, with an additional 3 months for an externally assessed end point assessment
A total of 15 months plus Functional Skills in maths and English, if required

Requirements

Desirable qualifications

GCSE or equivalent in:

English (grade 4)
Maths (grade 4)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Attention to detail
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Administrative skills
Number skills
Team working
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience

Other requirements

Due to the nature of customer contact, highly sensitive information is being dealt with daily. Successful candidates will need to use their discretion at all times and follow Data Protection regulations.

About this company

Local authority that covers the area of Tendring, Essex

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

Career progression will be dependent on vacancies coming up within the team or wider organisation. Internal employees can apply for roles as and when they are advertised.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is: