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Social care, environmental health and planning are among the top 10 skills shortages within local government. The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) said the National Initiatives Document, which responds to the Pay and Workforce Strategy survey 2006, set out key areas urgently needing skilled professionals, but warned the list was by no means definitive. The document illustrates the decline in national funding for many skills shortage areas, and identifies some alternative ‘creative' regional and local alternatives to external funding. ‘We, at the IDeA, will collate details of further initiatives in areas where little or low-level activity currently exist,' a spokesman said. ‘We will also work with other organisations to support the sector in reducing the skills shortage areas.' Councils have been encouraged to update the information provided within the document to assist in creating a ‘complete guide'. The top 10 skills shortage areas identified were social care, environmental health, planning, building, trading standards, occupational therapy, education psychologists, school crossing patrol, teaching and building surveying. Detail and the range of initiatives in place varies significantly, but in each area, the National Initiatives Document outlines measures, which can help overcome identified skills shortages. For example, within building, the IDeA is supporting a skills pathway for building control officers at a regional level, and under planning, the post-graduate fast-track one-year planning courses are applauded, together with the academy for sustainable communities and the planning advisory service. ‘It (the document) provides a list of the national initiatives currently in place to help councils fill crucial skills gaps,' said the spokesman. ‘We would like it to become a complete guide to all national and recruitment retention initiatives concerning the local government workforce.' Visit www.idea.gov.uk for more information.

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WHITEHALL

IDeA flags up skills shortages

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