Follow a local government graduate
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!
Read more about local government grad here.
Also - why not become a fan of LGjobs on facebook and tell us what you think about working in local government.
Posted: December 15th, 2008 under careers, talent.
Apprenticeship Week 23-27 February 2009
The Learning and Skills Council will be running a national Apprenticeship Week from 23 to 27 February 2009. Look out for more information on the Apprenticeships website nearer the time:
Read more about working as an Apprentice in a local council in our Apprenticeships section.
Posted: December 15th, 2008 under careers, talent.
Apply now for the national graduate development programme
The IDeA is now welcoming applications for the national graduate development programme (ngdp) for local government.
The programme is designed to put your vision and creative thinking as an ambitious graduate to use, and – by showcasing your talent – will give you the chance to fast track your career and become a senior manager as quickly as possible. Your work could take you in many different directions, and will enable you to not only recommend change, but actually make it happen.
The ngdp consists of four key components:
To find out more about the ngdp, watch our new videos about some of our trainees and their work.
To apply for the ngdp go to www.ngdp.co.uk
Posted: November 5th, 2008 under careers, talent.
Local Democracy Week 13-19 October
Local Democracy Week 2008 will take place from 13-19 October.
Hundreds of councils and thousands of schools up and down the country will be taking part – so make sure you’re involved too. Here’s how…
Organise a Local Democracy Campaign event - perhaps political speed dating, take your councillor to school day, local government careers day, or visit your council chamber. Read the LGA’s helpful ‘how to’ guides for more information.
Add an ‘I support local democracy’ banner to your own/your council’s/your school’s website. Read instructions on the Local Democracy Campaign website.
Get your local councillors online - read more on the Local Democracy Campaign website.
Persuade your council to get involved in the Local Democracy Campaign - read more about how to do it on the Local Democracy Campaign website.
You can read more information about what councils do in our ‘what is local government?’ section.
Posted: October 9th, 2008 under careers, talent.
The Planners Are Coming
The BBC are currently running a series looking at building planning processes.
It’s an interesting insight into working in Planning in a local council.
You can watch the latest episode online via BBC i Player.
Read more about working in planning within local government in our careers description section
Posted: October 1st, 2008 under careers.
Best Council to Work For 2008
The IDeA, Local Government Employers (LGE), Best Companies Ltd, and media partner The Times, have announced the Best Council to Work For list 2008. The initiative, in its second year, has seen an increased number of entrants, as well as improved performance among the top five councils across all of the assessment factors.
Best Council to Work For shines a spotlight on good council employers and what they do to get the best out of their people. Voted for by those who work there, Best Council to Work For shows how people really feel about where they work.
So, what makes a Best Council to Work For?
A combination of inspiring leadership, flexible working opportunities, good benefits, excellent training and development and a range of programmes to encourage the health and well being of staff.
And who are the Best Councils to Work For 2008?
1. Wychavon District Council
2. Chorley Council
3. Broadland District Council
4. Castle Morpeth Borough Council
5. Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
6. Test Valley Borough Council
7. Castle Point Borough Council
8. South Norfolk Council
9. Blyth Valley Borough Council
10. East Hampshire District Council
11. South Oxfordshire District Council
12. Aberdeenshire Council
13. Chiltern District Council
14. Rother District Council
15. Waverley Borough Council
16. Eden District Council
17. Runnymede Borough Council
18. East Northamptonshire Council
19. Malvern Hills District Council
20. West Oxfordshire District Council
21. Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames
22. Warwick District Council
23. Aylesbury Vale District Council
24. North Lincolnshire Council
25. Stratford District Council
Read more about the Best Councils to Work For at The Times online.
Find out more about the benefits of working for local government in our “why work for local government?” section.
Posted: September 23rd, 2008 under careers, jobs, talent.
Historic Environment Trainee Scheme
English Heritage launches new trainee scheme for graduates in archaeology, history, conservation, planning, urban design or environmental sciences, and/or those who have substantial practical work experience in a heritage discipline (such as archaeology, specialist planning or buildings’ history).
The new initiative is for historic environment practitioners – the Historic Environment Traineeship (HET) Scheme. Up to 10 two-year professional work placements will be available under the Scheme which will provide work-experience training in the application of professional conservation management skills in a planning and development context. Placements will be provided, supervised, administered and validated by English Heritage.
Although not a direct council traineeship, this scheme will include close partnership with with local councils and later on may include placements working in councils.
Further information about the Scheme and information on how to apply is available at www.english-heritage.org.uk/jobs under the Traineeships menu.
Read more about conservation related careers in local government:
Read Louise’s employee profile about working as a conservation administrator in local government.
Posted: July 3rd, 2008 under careers, jobs, talent.
What does your council do for you?
Do you know what your council does for you?
An information campaign to tell people about everything their council does for them is to be launched this week, in a bid to boost the reputation of town halls.
The ‘My Council’ campaign, being launched by the Local Government Association (LGA) at its Annual Conference in Bournemouth, will encourage councils, through a series of posters, to tell people about the vast range of services that their council tax pays for.
Sir Simon Milton, Chair of the LGA, said, “Most people just think that the council collects the bins and they haven’t the faintest clue of the vast range of services that town halls provide. From archaeology to zoology, from cradle to grave, councils provide over 800 services to improve people’s lives and help them get safe and sound through the day.”
To read the full article go to the LGA Media Centre.
To read more about the wide variety of services provided by your council, go to our “what is local government?” pages.
To read more about the huge range of jobs you could do in local government, go to our career descriptions.
Posted: June 30th, 2008 under careers, jobs, talent.
A day in the life of a Chief Executive
In a new series reported in Local Government First online, Chief Executive of Trafford Council, David McNulty, pays the first of a number of visits to some of the council’s essential, but often less visible services. Recently he spent the day at Dunham Massey crematorium and cemetery intending to find out about the hugely valuable work that the council’s 25 bereavement services workers carry out every day.
After a hard few hours work with the gravediggers and a new insight into what happens behind the scenes to ensure burials and cremations are carried out with respect and dignity, Mr McNulty admits he, “came away with an even greater admiration of the work done” and believes it shows the council’s “customer care at its best”.
To read the full story of a day in the life of a chief executive, go to Local Government First online.
Use the following links to read more about the role and duties of:
Posted: June 20th, 2008 under careers, jobs, talent.
The public sector - an employer of choice
GTI’s 2008 employer of choice survey for the public sector uses data gathered from over 4500 students and graduates who stated that the public sector was one of the areas, in which they were interested in working.
Some general trends showed that graduates wishing to work in the public sector were:
As a large recruiter in the public sector, local government, with over 2 million employees, is keen to attract people from a diverse range of backgrounds, with many different skills and experiences. If you’ve never thought about working for local government, think again! There are over 600 occupational groups to choose from, such as finance, IT, marketing, research, policy development, environmental health, social work, planning and much much more.
To find out more about the kind of careers on offer in local government, visit the career descriptions section.
To search for current job vacancies in local government, visit our jobs website.
To find out more about the national graduate development programme for local government, visit the ngdp website.
To register with the local government talent pool for graduates, visit the talent pool website.
To read the GTI employer of choice surveys in full, visit the GTI website.