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Raised expectations Graduates say they want to work in the public sector, but are less keen on local government The NLGN's recent report on recruitment will give delegates at this week's PPMA conference in Brighton much to talk about. The headlines from the report make uncomfortable reading, with warnings of an exodus from town halls across the country. According to the report, more than one-third of local government staff are due to retire within the next 10 years, which could leave many councils understaffed. It also found that while graduates want to work in the public sector, very few are keen to work in local government itself, which could create even more personnel problems further down the line. The NLGN went as far as calling for a ‘national governing Britain fast track' recruitment scheme for both local and central government, which would give graduates experience of working both in Whitehall and in the town halls. Says report author, Nigel Keohane: ‘Jobs in local government are not marketed to an audience of the most talented, but to a pre-defined catchment. ‘Jobs are not "sold" for what they actually do, for the contribution to society or the career-development opportunities they offer,' he adds. ‘Yet, these are the incentives which are most attractive to potential recruits. ‘The wide range of excellent benefits and an enviable pension are hardly ever marketed, even for senior posts.' But rumours of a demise in local government graduate recruitment have been greatly exaggerated, according to others. As programme manager for the Improvement and Development Agency's national graduate-development programme, Richard Masters says the ‘brightest and the best' still want to work in local government. Mr Masters says 1,700 graduates applied for just 100 posts in the current round of the programme. ‘That feels like a healthy interest to me,' he says. And while the traditional image of local government is of a male-dominate workforce, Mr Masters says that of the 198 applicants who made it through to the assessment stage, 60% were female. ‘The issue is whether local government is good enough to retain them,' says SOLACE director general, David Clark. ‘We have to give people decent careers and opportunities. Talent management is something which local government needs to learn about.' Mr Clark says councils must learn more about fast-tracking graduates. He adds that, by moving to a cabinet system, staff have less opportunity to interact and work with councillors. ‘To make that final step to senior management, one needs to understand the political environment in which councillors work,' he adds. Jan Parkinson, managing director of Local Government Employers, says the town hall is an increasingly popular option for graduates. She says predictions of a recruitment crisis are ‘unduly pessimistic'. ‘It will be especially important to show new recruits that the jobs they will be coming to will be very different from the tradition roles of the past,' she says. ‘Councils, these days, are focused on making the lives of local people better, and that is a great opportunity for ambitious young people.' But GMB national secretary, Brian Strutton, says his union has been warning of a recruitment crisis for ‘some time'. ‘We've told council leaders that they need to make themselves an employer of choice – and that means not just saying so, but being prepared to pay decent pay rates to attract people in,' says Mr Strutton. Local government has changed dramatically over the last 20 years and it is good to see that the next generation of directors wants to work for councils. The issue of how to keep graduates in local government will no doubt give PPMA delegates much food for thought.

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WHITEHALL

Fast track solution to jobs crisis

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