LG Careers

ngdp - Want to work in the North East?

Lucy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:09:31 +0000

ngdp - Want to work in the North East?

The ngdp has launched a top up campaign for councils in the North East, starting this October 2009.

For more information visit www.ngdp.co.uk

New careers film library

Liz — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:53:29 +0000

Have you seen our new film library?

It’s full of short films of people who work in local government talking about what they do every day. They work in a variety of departments, doing all sorts of different jobs.

View our films here.

Our thanks go to all those local council employees who took part in the filming at the London Borough of Lewisham and North East Lincolnshire Council.

We’re also very grateful to icould for making the films. Find out more about the icould talking careers library at www.icould.com

What makes you leap out of bed in the morning?

Liz — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:20:32 +0000

We’ve been asking people in local government what motivates them to get up and go to work every day! Some say it’s the fact that they can make a difference to people’s lives, others say they really like the people they work with, and others say they like being able to be in control of their own workload and manage their time.

Watch the Thank Goodness it’s Monday film trailer and catch a glimpse of what you’re missing out on!

Watch the whole Thank Goodness it’s Monday film here.

Answer our poll - tell us what makes you leap out of bed in the morning?

Career of the month - children’s social worker

Liz — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:27:18 +0000

Are you good at communicating with different types of people?
Can you engage in a meaningful and honest way with children?
Are you able to deal effectively and calmly with difficult and confrontational situations?
Are you a good listener?
Do you have report writing skills?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then you might want to consider a career in child social work.

Children are potentially the most threatened members of society because they are among the most vulnerable. It is a social worker’s job to help children who are at risk - maybe they are suffering abuse, they might have a disability, or learning difficulties, or perhaps they are separated from their family, or have no family of their own. Child social workers provide support, help and care for these children.

For more information:

Look for current social work jobs on LGjobs.com

Drive to recruit child social workers

Liz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:58:55 +0000

The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched the first ever national campaign to respect, recruit and retain child social workers with a drive to recruit 5,000 professionals who have recently left to tighten the safety net and reduce the chance of children dying from abuse or neglect.

Council leaders will highlight that, while there have been consistent improvements in recruitment and retention over the last few years, there are still problems that need to be addressed.

A new report, Respect and Protect, launched by the LGA shows that:

One in ten child social worker post are vacant at any one time
Of those councils who experience recruitment difficulties, 89% had trouble recruiting experienced children social workers
Around 5,500 child social workers are agency staff.

A survey of councils carried out by the Local Government Association, Improvement and Development Agency and Local Government Employers, between July and September of 2008, found that:

Two in three reported problems recruiting children’s social workers, almost double the number reporting problems recruiting adult social workers
Four in ten reported problems in retaining children’s social workers compared to one in four reporting problems retaining adult social workers.

In the coming weeks, the LGA will set out a series of measures which it believes will help recruit the best, retain the brightest and increase respect for child social workers

.

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said:

“There are real difficulties for councils in recruiting and retaining high calibre child social worker staff. We must look to the future and recruit and retain staff so that they can protect the most vulnerable children in society. In the short term we must encourage up to 5,000 recently retired child social work professionals back to the front line to help keep children safe.

“Being a child social worker is one of the toughest jobs in Britain. Encouraging back those who have been at the frontline tirelessly working to save the lives of vulnerable children is key to helping plug the gaps and ensure that we, as a nation, can do everything we can to keep them safe.”

To find out more about a career in social work in a local council:

Social care recruitment campaign

Liz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:13:52 +0000

The Department of Health have launched their social care recruitment campaign for 2009. The campaign aims to raise awareness of caring careers and recruit more people into social care work.

What kind of careers can you do in social care?
There’s a wide range of caring jobs in local government. From helping elderly people with their shopping, personal care needs or delivering them meals on wheels, to looking after children with disabilities or working in a residential care home.

Find out more about some of these jobs in our caring for your community section:

To look for current vacancies in social care go to LGjobs.com

To find out more about working in social care and the kind of training and qualifications you might need, go to www.socialcarecareers.co.uk

Apprenticeship Week 23-27 February

Liz — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:43:42 +0000

Have you ever thought about earning and learning at the same time? That is just what an apprenticeship could offer you. The chance to work and gain valuable skills, while also working towards a qualification. Some councils offer apprenticeships in a wide range of occupational areas from buisness administration and customer service to amenity horticulture and health and social care.

Apprenticeship Week 23-27 February is about raising awareness of apprenticeships, both with potential apprentices and employers.

Here’s what two apprentices in London Boroughs say about working in local government:

“When I left school I couldn’t decide between going to college or a job where I could learn at the same time, as both would give me the same qualification. I chose to go for an apprenticeship with the council and haven’t looked back since. It’s given me a great start to my career, learning basic office work and skills, how to plan and meet deadlines and how to work in a team. I really like the fact that I’m treated like an adult and I have real jobs to do with real responsibility.”
Lucy, Business Administration Apprentice

“After I left school, I was really struggling to find a job, as many employers required two years experience. Somebody suggested I try voluntary work with the council in ICT to gain experience and I ended up joining the Apprenticeship scheme in Information Technology. After my Apprenticeship I was offered a job as a Junior Systems Analyst and have progressed really quickly to become senior manager. I’m now the ICT Technical Architect for the council. I have really enjoyed the varied and exciting projects I’ve been involved with and have received loads of training opportunities including professional qualifications.”
Chris, former IT Apprentice and now ICT Technical Architect

To find out more about apprenticeships in local government visit our apprenticeship information.

To find out more about apprenticeships generally visit the apprenticeships website.

To search for job opportunities in local government visit the local government jobs website.

National graduate development programme wins award

Liz — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:18:07 +0000

Congratulations to the national graduate development programme for local government (ngdp), which last week won a Recruitment Advertising Award for a short film promoting the work that trainees on the programme get involved with. The award was for Best Work of the Year.

The judges found the video “Building a wall” a simple, but moving and powerful portrayal of the kind of work graduates on the programme do.

New Government employment and training plans

Liz — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:16:26 +0000

The Government recently announced new measures to give more intensive help to those who are out of work and guarantee education or training for all school leavers. The measures include increased funding to supply 35,000 new Apprenticeship places, plus £500m to provide recruitment subsidies for employers, financial help for new business start-ups and enhanced training opportunities for those out of work.

Read more about these announcements on the Number 10 website.

Find out more about working in local government in our career descriptions section.

Find jobs in local government at www.LGjobs.com

Follow a local government graduate

Liz — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:27:50 +0000

Have you been following our local government graduate on Twitter? Find out about what it’s like to work in a local council on the national graduate development programme (ngdp) real time!

Also - why not become a fan of LGjobs on facebook and tell us what you think about working in local government.