Council Moves Away from Administrative Data Entry to Powerful Data-Driven Insights with Data Apprenticeships
Cheshire East Council is the local authority for Cheshire East and provides local government services to over 400K residents. The council utilises data to drive strategic decision-making, optimise public services, and ensure resources are allocated effectively.
From workforce planning to economic development, data plays a crucial role in identifying skills gaps, forecasting employment trends, and shaping initiatives that support local businesses. The accuracy of reporting, analysis, and insight generation is critical, as data acts as a fundamental route to impactful decision-making and service delivery.
Cheshire East Council has adopted Data apprenticeships for years within its Skills & Lifelong Learning division, partnering with Baltic Apprenticeships to enhance the skills of its workforce and meet evolving demands, a move that has significantly transformed the team’s data capabilities.
The Role of Data in the Council’s Skills & Lifelong Learning Division
The Skills & Lifelong Learning team are not a traditional data team, but they are responsible for collecting, managing, and analysing vast amounts of information relating to Adult Skills Fund (ASF), Skills Bootcamps, and other publicly funded short courses.
The team gathers evidence and data for each learner, inputs it into a centralised system, and compiles datasets that secure council funding. They monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for subcontractors and stakeholders, with a focus on funding compliance, reporting accuracy, and identifying potential causes of funding shortfalls.
By maintaining efficient, high-quality data processes, the team ensures all reporting meets the strict requirements of funding bodies – maximising the funding available to Cheshire East Council, which operates with tight budgets and minimal margins. This accuracy safeguards against the loss of funding due to reporting errors, while enabling deeper analysis into where and why funding may have been reduced, ensuring resources are allocated effectively.
“In the last five years, the team has become way more data-driven than it was. The organisation as a whole is also a lot more data-driven. It’s more of a core principle of the organisation.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
Despite its significant workload, the team remains small, consisting of a Team Manager, a Quality Manager, and three Data Analysts. Each Analyst specialises in supporting external partners, ensuring that reports are tailored to the specific needs of each stakeholder. To address skill gaps and enhance workforce capabilities, the team has embraced Data apprenticeships, allowing them to build technical proficiency and gain hands-on experience.
The Challenge: Administration Without Analysis
The council’s Skills & Lifelong Learning team previously relied on Business Administration apprenticeships to build data literacy skills, primarily focusing on data entry and routine administrative support. While these roles were valuable in maintaining day-to-day operations, they did not provide the technical expertise required for effective data management and analysis.
“Historically, we used to do Level 2 and Level 3 Business Administration, but there didn’t seem to be any correlation between that qualification and what the data staff actually did.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
The Business Administration apprentices received training in handling spreadsheets, processing information, and assisting with reporting, but the training lacked the advanced analytical skills needed to interpret complex datasets, identify trends, and generate actionable insights. Without a workforce equipped with modern analytical skills, the team found itself unable to fully harness the potential of its data, restricting its ability to make strategic, data-driven decisions.
Recognising these limitations, the Skills & Lifelong Learning team saw an urgent need to transition toward a more data-driven approach. However, without the right training in place, this shift proved challenging. There was a clear gap between the skills taught on the Business Administration apprenticeship and the skills required to use data strategically, leaving decision-makers without the insights they needed to continue to drive progress and improve services.
Data Apprenticeships as the Solution
Through recommendations from external sources, the Skills & Lifelong Learning team moved away from Business Administration apprenticeships and introduced the Level 3 and Level 4 Data Apprenticeship programmes, which proved to be transformative.
“The Level 3 Data Apprenticeship was recommended to us because it was more relevant to what our staff did. To be quite honest, it’s been a godsend because Business Administrator didn’t give us anything to work with.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
Unlike the Business Administration apprenticeships previously relied upon, which lacked technical depth, Baltic’s Data apprenticeships provided the necessary skills to manage and analyse data effectively. The switch to Data apprenticeships has allowed the team to develop technical expertise in Excel, Power BI, and SQL, aligning with the authority’s increasing reliance on data.
“Now, rather than doing things ad hoc, we use Power BI and Excel’s Power Query to automate reports, saving us massive amounts of time. We’ve moved from spending hours cleaning data for reports to clicking a button and having it ready.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
By integrating automation tools, reporting processes have been streamlined, significantly reducing the time required to prepare reports and visualisations. Our Data apprenticeships have allowed the team to modernise their approach to data management and build technical skills in-house, transforming the team into a key asset.
Impact on Cheshire East Council
The adoption of Data apprenticeships has significantly improved the Skills & Lifelong Learning team’s data management capabilities, elevating its ability to collect, analyse, and utilise data effectively. With new expertise in place, the team has become integral, providing valuable insights that support strategic decision-making and operational efficiency.
Since introducing Data apprenticeships, the authority has experienced improved communication and data literacy across departments, and the programmes have helped to further reinforce the value of the team. With enhanced skills and access to advanced tools like Power BI, the team now produces high-quality reports and dashboards, making data more accessible and actionable for non-technical stakeholders.
“[Data apprenticeships] have increased our standing within the authority to be able to provide quality data. It’s improved our ability to provide support and extra income to other services.
We are now commissioned to provide data for three additional projects because they haven’t got either staff or the ability to do that.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
The team have been commissioned to support multiple projects across the council, filling a critical gap for departments that lack the necessary staff or technical ability, which has strengthened cross-departmental collaboration, positioning the team as a trusted source of truth.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the shift from administrative data input to advanced analytics has transformed the Skills & Lifelong Learning team’s operations. Moving away from Business Administration apprenticeships and integrating Data apprenticeships has built a highly skilled team capable of driving meaningful insights and operational improvements.
“The integration of Data apprenticeships has been a resounding success. We see the benefits and outcomes, and it has completely transformed how we operate as a data-driven organisation.”
Giles Sowden, Skills & Lifelong Learning
As the demand for data expertise continues to grow, the authority remains committed to Data apprenticeships. By embracing Data apprenticeships and investing in analytical skills, the Skills & Lifelong Learning team have built a highly skilled data workforce capable of driving efficiencies, improving reporting, and supporting critical public services.