time for the apprentice to find another post. This was recom- mended by our IT colleague;
2. Funded by re-purposing an existing Library Assistant role from Frontline Services. In the end we funded the post by reducing our budget for Frontline Services Assistants (student workers) instead, as changes in Frontline Services meant fewer hours were required from that team;
3. Restricting age to 18+. This was also recommended by our IT colleague, as HR had advised it is complicated to employ apprentices under this age;
4. Line managed by People & Culture Manager for the period of the trial. This would take the pressure off our Frontline Services managers, as we acknowledged the additional work, at least initially. The People & Culture Manager is also highly experienced in supporting staff;
5. Based in Frontline Services, but placements for blocks of time in Archives, Special Collections and other specialist areas. Offering placements in Archives and Special Collec- tions was a unique selling point for the apprenticeship at King’s. However, we also wanted to ensure the apprentice had a ‘home’ and Frontline Services was the best fit for that;
6. If apprenticeship is successfully completed, consider pathway to offering permanent role.
Our recommendations were approved and the senior management team’s buy-in was crucial. Our main debate was about the salary we should offer. Often apprentices are paid at a lower salary than other staff to reflect that it is a training post (apprentices are paid a full-time salary with day-release an integral part of the role, although the costs of the training are covered by the apprenticeship levy). We finally agreed we would pay the apprentice the same salary as our Library Assistants, as their duties would be similar. There is a risk that at the end of the apprenticeship, even if we offered a permanent Library Assistant role, this would not constitute a pay increase, and this could be the expecta- tion. However, we felt it was important to pay a reasonable salary from the outset. We then submitted a business case to the Director of Students and Education, which was also approved.
Training in partnership
In July, Gavin and I met with Westminster Adult Education Services (WAES), who had been highly recommended. We came away impressed by the course and support WAES offered employers. Day-release is the same day on a rolling month schedule (Wednesday for our apprentice’s cohort). Week one is an in-person taught session with the cohort, with group work and tutorials; week two is self-directed study, working on an assignment; week three is an online session with the cohort; with self-directed study for the final week, finishing the assignment. Following that discus- sion, and with the approval of Organisational Development, we agreed to appoint WAES as our training provider. Recruitment then got underway. We agreed the new role would be give the job title of ‘Apprentice Library Assistant’. We adapted our existing Library Assistant job description to reflect that this was a training post, based in Frontline Services, but with time spent in Special Collections and Archives. In terms of qualifications and training we asked for the following essential criteria:
● You must have a Grade C or above (4-9) in Maths and English at GCSE;
● We think a wide range of different work experience could support you to be successful in this role. This might
September 2024 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 35
include work in a library or a customer-facing service.
Rather than advertising via King’s, we decided to advertise via WAES and the government site, in the hope we would reach a wider audience than usual. Putting the advert together was a chal- lenge, as the government website has a limit of 350 characters to explain why someone should apply. It really made us focus on what we thought would attract someone to a library apprentice- ship at King’s. We came up with:
This role is based at the stunning grade II* listed Maughan Library, one of six libraries at King’s College London. You will be given the unique opportunity to work in our Frontline Services, Special Collections and Archives teams.
We took up WAES’ offer of support to look at the initial batch of applications and they reduced the list of c.120 down to 20 for us. This saved us time and utilised WAES’ experience in spotting candidates who had an interest in libraries and commitment to an apprenticeship.
Strong candidates
Eleven candidates were eventually invited to interview. Our People & Culture Manager endeavoured to make the process as inclusive and as positive an experience as possible. Interview questions and pre-interview guidance and advice was sent in advance. The opportunity to request adjustments to the interview process was repeated in all communications. A scenario question was used, based on real-life requirements of the Library Assistant role. Unlimited prompting and a conversational approach was adopted and the interview included a short tour of the Maughan library. We had a strong field with several appointable candidates, but Red scored highest and was offered the role.
More tasks were involved than for standard recruitment. Prior to advertising the apprenticeship, Organisational Development
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