Apprentice garden project receives official opening

Plymouth City Council have announced the opening of a section of the Place de Brest garden which has been "revamped" as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

The opening at 2pm on Friday 15th March will be attended by Leader of the Council, Councillor Tudor Evans and Chief Executive Tracey Lee.

Plymouth City Council apprentices have been getting their hands dirty this week to transform a section of our city centre garden to mark National Apprenticeships Week and the 50th anniversary of the city's twinning with Brest in France.

The project which was developed, planned, and organised by nine Plymouth City Council apprentices as their bid to become the Brathay National Apprentice Team of the Year.

Plymouth City Council’s Apprentice team have been working closely with other team members, and our parks department to design, plan and ensure resources were in place in time to start work on Monday 11 March.

They will be planting a variety of herbaceous plants in the bed including Euonymoue, Perovskia, Agapanthus and Hemerocallis. These are in a mixture of blues, greens and blues. There will be some numbering in the flowerbed to depict the anniversary dates which will be planted in festuca grasses.

Eilis Bond, who is leading the team said: “This challenge has been a fantastic opportunity for me to develop my organisational skills. I‘m working with people I had never worked with or met before on a project that was continuously changing as it developed.

“I’ve also had the chance to share my story and help other young people understand how an apprenticeship with the Council gives you a chance to really prove yourself and to start climbing the career ladder with the help of people who have got years of experience.

“I’ve been doing things I would never have imagined doing in a Business and Administration role. That's the message I wanted to share with young people and this challenge gave me a great way of doing so.”

Councillor Tudor Evans said: “We’re saying it with flowers! Through this incredible project we’re telling people that our apprentices are not only getting on with the job, but creating something incredible in the heart of the city for all to enjoy. I’m delighted that the council’s apprentices are making such a great contribution as well as helping themselves climb the career ladder.

“Jobs – especially for young people – are critical to our future, which is why we have the 1,000 Club, it’s why we have the Plan for Jobs, with 19 deliverable projects all about creating work and opportunity.

“We all know the economic conditions are far from ideal, but any companies or organisations that take on apprentices are not just helping young people, they are helping themselves and helping the city’s future.”

Ken Holder,the Council's Apprenticeships Coordinator said: “This garden project was all about providing a platform to spread the message that our cities young people are a great commodity to us, they have an extremely dynamic skill base which businesses needs to embrace in order to help our city grow and prosper. 

“Additionally this piece of city centre green space will be there for everybody to enjoy throughout the year.

The garden is a green space within the city centre which can be enjoyed by all."