Record numbers of graduates who joined the local government development programme are choosing to remain in the public sector. The first survey of alumni from the National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP), started by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), has revealed 90% of graduates joining councils in England and Wales are choosing to stay within local government and the public sector. Just 5.2% go to the private sector, and 4.8% join charities or the voluntary sector after the two-year programme is complete. Tim Hodey, NDGP consultant at the IDeA, said: ‘It was a little bit of a surprise. ‘We did expect a few more to have gone over to the private sector. ‘But, we are very pleased. It really is one the highest retention rates of any graduate programme.' Mr Hodey believes a key contributory factor to such a high retention rate is because local government has proved a good employer, with a wide range of opportunities. Graduates are taken from all disciplines, not just politics or social policy, and the top three recruiting grounds are Durham, Nottingham and Manchester universities. Around 380 graduates have completed the programme since it started in 2002, and a further 170 are currently taking part with a view to taking on jobs in management roles. Two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed, who had completed the programme, are now working in senior officer/management roles. And 80% are earning in excess of £30,000. The graduate programme is now under review with a view to making it more sustainable. But Mr Hodey said demand was still high, both from the councils and graduates, so he expected it to continue.
