Local government

Local government is the name given to local councils; it is not national government or the Civil Service. More than 20,000 democratically elected councillors in England and Wales make policies that are put into effect by local government employees. There are more than 460 local councils and in excess of 11,000 town, parish and community councils. They have a £78 billion budget and employ over 2 million people directly or through contracts – 11 per cent of the UK’s workforce – in around 600 different careers. They are funded through:

- grants from central government (48 per cent)

- business rates (local companies) (25 per cent)

- council tax (local people) (25 per cent)

- other sources (2 per cent).

There are eight types and levels of council that split responsibilities for services between them:

- county (34)

- district (236)

- London borough (32)

- metropolitan (36)

- English unitary (46)

- Scottish unitary (32)

- Welsh unitary (22)

- Northern Ireland district (26).

Services they provide include:

- housing, building and the environment

- cultural amenities, leisure and recreation

- roads, traffic and parking

- cemeteries

- economic development and planning

- education and libraries

- police and fire services

- tourism and trading standards

- waste collection and disposal.

Councillors are elected representatives of local voters and motivated by issues like service to the community, party politics and personal ambition. Some are content to remain at this level of public service while others have higher political ambitions. Paid officials may have a great deal to do with councillors or very little, but they serve them and must be loyal to them.

Councils no longer provide all local services themselves and contract out a number of them while ensuring that they get ‘best value’. Indeed, a council’s own department responsible for a particular service may find itself bidding for a contract against private companies.

A total of 60 per cent of the categories of jobs in the UK contain local government workers. The breakdown of employment is:

- education – 1,162,000

- social services – 336,000

- fire services – 51,000

- services to the public – 454,000

- corporate functions – 164,000.

Areas of local government anticipating the greatest changes over the next five years include:

- best value – being required to challenge the need for services, consult widely about requirements, compare their performance against others and compete against external competition

- comprehensive performance assessment – compiling evidence of a council’s performance from many sources, assessing it, giving it a score and encouraging improvement where necessary

- e-government – using technology to improve public services by building services round people’s choices, increasing access and social inclusion, and using information better

- equal opportunities and diversity – ensuring all employees and members of the public receive the same level of care and service, and that the talents of all are recognised and valued

- recruiting young people – 6 per cent of local government employees are under 25 compared with 15 per cent in the whole population, so schools visits and graduate programmes are developing.

Local government employers generally support the work/life balance and recognise the need for many people to have flexibility in their working hours. Schemes in existence that accommodate such needs are:

- flexi-time

- part-time work

- job sharing

- compressed weeks or fortnights

- term-time working

- averaged/annualised hours

- swapping hours

- voluntary changes in hours

- working at home

- career breaks.

Local government equivalents in the Forces

Although there is no local government in the Forces, virtually all its functions and the skills they require are mirrored somewhere by the Services. The latter are increasingly being used to contract out specialist functions to external agencies and manage the service provided.

Many of the social and welfare functions carried out by local government will be very familiar to people with experience of modern operations, in which the establishment and support of a working infrastructure is part of the overall aim. Many of the specialist functions, too, have people within the Services who practise them in what is really just a different environment.

The idea of service to others will also strike a chord with many people in the Forces. They may have a dislike of the profit motive so necessary for people in the private sector, or they may simply enjoy the feeling that their efforts are for the benefit of the community as a whole.

Training and qualifications

Because of the wide range of jobs in local government, starting qualifications vary from none to Master’s degrees. However, for people who want to develop, a number of qualifications are available.

National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs) are work-based qualifications awarded to students who provide evidence of competence in work situations. Most Service people are already being awarded N/SVQs through their training and experience; many of the latter, or at least the units that form them, will be appropriate for local government employment.

Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) are work-based training opportunities for young people (usually under 25) at two levels: Foundation with an NVQ at Level 2 and Advanced with an NVQ at Level 3. All MAs include key skills and a technical certificate. Many Service people will also complete an MA during their training.

Local government is one of the largest graduate employers in the country in all service areas, and graduates can complete professional training while working. Some councils have individual graduate training schemes in many different occupational areas, while the National Graduate Development Programme has been developed by a number of councils working together.

Generally, therefore, local government is a very good employer in terms of training and development. Staff members are encouraged to work for qualifications, and councils will often provide time off and funding to help people who want to develop their careers. Indeed, some qualifications are essential for certain jobs like positions in law, finance and social work.

Local government employers will consider academic qualifications as well as vocational ones. Modern Apprenticeships are often a route into higher education through Foundation Degrees, while some councils will employ a candidate while they complete their academic programme. Although local government is not a career in itself, it is an area in which other careers can be practised. As well as training, local government organisations usually offer good holiday entitlement and a secure pension scheme.

Employment

Jobs in local government fall into seven major service categories:

1corporate – including administration, democratic services, development, finance, front-line staff, human resources, IT, legal, marketing, policy, research and review

2education – including advice and support, information, pre-school, school (non-teaching), school transport, teaching

3emergency – including planning, fire-fighting, neighbourhood watch, scenes of crime officer

4environmental – including environmental care and conservation, environmental health, highways and maintenance, planning and licensing, trading standards, waste management

5leisure – including facilities/operations, front-line staff, leisure/sports development

6property – including architecture, building and construction, facilities maintenance, finance, housing, surveying

7social – including care of children and young people, care of elderly people, health, other social care, policy and review, social work.

It is possible to transfer between councils so that a local government worker whose family wanted to live in another part of the country could apply to move to another authority, doing the same job and at the same seniority. With 80 per cent of vacancies filled by internal candidates, employees who want to change job within the same authority can often do so.

Local government jobs are advertised on the Internet, and in the national and local media. Careers and employment agencies (including local JobCentres) also often hold details of vacancies. Most appointments will require the individual to complete an application form and appear for interview. Application forms require specific answers to questions designed to establish how closely the applicant fits the person specification. Interviews usually last 30 to 45 minutes and are conducted by a panel. There may sometimes be other selection methods as well. Official advice to help in finding a job is:

- check websites

- research the council/department

- think about the job description and person specification

- fill in the form neatly

- return it by the due date

- arrive on time for the interview

- dress tidily

- show a positive attitude

- ask questions

- never lie.