What attracted you to the role and to Hackney council specifically?
Reece Lukeman: I live here and was brought up here, so working here just felt right. I worked here before my apprenticeship and was involved in previous work that led to the creation of my role in Young Futures. I had no idea what the role would be or what it would look like but the main aim was to deliver on the asks & recommendations set out from Hackney Young Future’s Commission, It was already something I was passionate about!
Rebecca Phillips: I was initially interested in the Management Trainee scheme due to the opportunity to work on different placements and the variety of placements really appealed to me. It offered the opportunity to work ‘behind the scenes’ on more strategic work but also the opportunity to do more frontline roles, engaging directly with residents in the borough.
Britt Alexander: For me it was the chance to live somewhere I can walk or cycle to work and live in an area which celebrates so many different cultures.
Of your placements, which was the most beneficial and why?
RL: My placement as the Young Futures Lead was the most beneficial because it taught me the ability to influence and make decisions and create change. I’ve also been able to manage people, hold people to account and challenge both my peers and senior management constructively. Most importantly, I’ve been involved in embedding the voices of Hackney residents in our work.
RP: For me, my placement in User Research was the most beneficial. I got exposure to working in an agile way, within a multidisciplinary team and there are lots of learning and development opportunities. For example, later this month I am attending a 2-day Government Digital Service user research workshop, which will be incredibly informative. I’ve also been provided the opportunity to see projects through to the end and felt like I was given the opportunity to lead on them.
BA: Working within the Change Support Team was a highlight for me. It was a great opportunity to work on a range of projects across multiple services, such as working on a Better Conversations tool for customer services, carrying out user research and data collection work with Public Health Team’s community champions. I was able to network widely and i also learnt a lot about different services whilst building experience in agile project management and use of digital tools to improve services.
Could you provide a brief summary of your experience as a whole, if you would recommend applying as a Management Trainee at Hackney council and why.
RL: it’s been really useful – I’ve gotten insights into different levels of operational and strategic meetings. I’ve been given the opportunity to explore and speak to many senior managers who have always been open to discussing progression and development.
RP: I would definitely recommend applying to be a Management trainee at Hackney. The support is great and colleagues are lovely and supportive. Experience is very varied and there really is the opportunity for you to sculpt placements in line with your experience, interests and qualification.
BA: I would highly recommend the Management Trainee experience at Hackney Council. The two years gave me a wide breadth of work experience and development opportunities and I really enjoyed working alongside a cohort of other young people with similar goals and interests to mine. It was also brilliant to be managed by Strategic Delivery managers who were able to pay attention to our key areas for development and provide exciting opportunities to work in areas of our interest.