Salary range: London Living Wage plus fantastic benefits
Contract: Fixed Term 18 Month Apprenticeship
Hours of work: 36 hours per week
Location: Croydon
18-month apprenticeship | 36 hours per week | 20% study time
Start your career in Housing while gaining practical customer service experience and learning on the job.
We’re looking for someone with good communication and people skills to join our Housing Repairs Contact Centre as a Customer Service Apprentice.
You don’t need previous Housing or Contact Centre experience. What matters is that you enjoy helping people, can listen and communicate clearly, are comfortable using a computer and are willing to learn and develop.
You’ll be part of the team that helps residents and other customers when they contact us about Housing repairs and other services. You’ll learn how to respond to enquiries by telephone, email, online, face-to-face and in writing.
With training and support, you’ll learn how to understand what a customer needs, provide clear information, record enquiries accurately, keep customers updated and help resolve issues at the first point of contact wherever possible. You’ll also learn when an enquiry needs to be passed to a colleague or another service.
You’ll work with colleagues, contractors and other Council services, learn our Housing repairs processes and systems, and take part in customer feedback and service improvement activity.
This is an apprenticeship opportunity, so we’re looking for your potential and willingness to learn rather than previous Housing experience.
You’ll need to be able to communicate clearly with different people, listen and respond with empathy and tact, record information accurately, work well with others and maintain confidentiality. You should also be comfortable using a computer for email, word processing and databases and willing to learn new systems and ways of working.
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to start your career in Housing, gain practical experience in a busy customer service environment and develop your skills while completing an 18-month apprenticeship. You’ll have 20% of your working week allocated to study time.
Our benefits include an inclusive working environment, learning and career development, the Local Government Pension Scheme, family-friendly provisions and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
The Housing Contact Centre currently operates between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, and flexibility may be required to meet service needs.
View the role profile please click here
Application closing date: Friday 2 October 2026
Assessment/Interviews: Week commencing 23 November 2026
This vacancy may close without notice if a sufficient number of applications are received. Early application is therefore encouraged.
Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role.
The Council balances its books, listens to residents, and delivers good sustainable services
Key business plan outcomes:
Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Subject to business needs, we will be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working, whereby staff attend the workplace for part of their working week and work from home, or elsewhere, remotely for the rest of the time.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role.
Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.
The Successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check, if the role requires one.
We provide a large number of services for local people, businesses and visitors to the borough, including services for children and adults, and environmental, cultural, sports, housing, planning and benefits services.
The borough is split into 24 electoral wards, and local elections are held every four years.
With a workforce of approximately 3,300 staff, including teachers in schools, Croydon Council is the largest employer in the borough. Spending over £900 million per year, the council makes a significant contribution to the local economy.
The council comprises three main political functions, the Executive (Leader and Cabinet), Committees, and Scrutiny.
The Leader and Cabinet are responsible and accountable for shaping policies and plans and recommending them to the council for approval. Cabinet also gives direction to departmental directors on the way services are managed and the budgets allocated to them.
Six non-executive committees take decisions relating to planning, licensing, standards of behaviour and conduct for members and officers, staffing issues, tenders, property transactions, liaison with local utility companies and internal audit.
Scrutiny holds the council executive functions to account. Examining aspects of council performance, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee also increasingly involves other local agencies which contribute to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the local population.
