Local Government
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Sector Overview
| Is it right for me? - further information on this career area, including skills/attributes required and tactics for success (pdf) |
Local government is the collective term for local councils (also referred to as local authorities). Local councils have powers and responsibilities, derived from central government, to provide services for their local population. Services normally include: planning, social services, education, libraries, fire, environmental health, consumer protection, leisure services and waste collection/disposal. The 433 UK local councils are made up of councillors (members) who are voted for by the public in local elections and paid council staff who implement policies and deliver services on a daily basis. Local councils employed 2,647,000 people in March 2012, down 7.1% on the previous year (figures from the ONS). The sector offers entrants the opportunity to work nationwide, in a wide variety of roles and in a setting where their work makes tangible differences to people’s lives.
The 600+ roles in local government have been grouped into six themes on the Local government careers website: building your community (architects, building surveyors, building engineers, housing officers, council tax), caring for your community (social care officers, social workers), educating your community (librarians, teachers, careers advisers, counselors, therapists), entertaining your community (leisure centre staff, arts administrators, museum curators, events coordinators), protecting your community (environmental health and conservation, trading standards, highway maintenance, waste management and town and country planning) and supporting your community (administration, finance, HR, marketing, PR, policy and research).
A local government officer responds to the administrative needs of these individual departments, assists in the development of policies and procedures, and helps to co-ordinate their implementation. Have a look at the Prospects definition of this role.
Network with alumni
Connecting with University of St Andrews alumni already working in this sector is a great way to make contacts, gain an insight into what's happening in the sector, and in some cases alumni can become valuable mentors.
- LinkedIn – By joining the group University of St Andrews Alumni, and the sub-group University of St Andrews Alumni - Mentorship Programme, you'll be able to make contact directly with alumni. Further details can be found on our website: LinkedIn.
- Sheffield City Council, Leeds City Council, Perth and Kinross Council and the City of London Corporation' are some local authorities employing members of the University of St Andrews Alumni group.
How to get experience
Naturally, if you have had some experience whilst being a student, your insights into the work and chances of getting a job in local goverment after you graduate could be improved.
- At present there are no national work experience schemes for local government but many councils have temporary work opportunities. Make speculative applications to Human Resources departments to ask if they have suitable openings or at least an opportunity to visit or work shadow a current employee. Use a Local Council Directory to find contact details.
- Careers Centre JobsOnline occasionally receives vacancies.
- Try to get experience relevant to the area that you are interested in, even if it means working for another kind of organisation. For example, if your interest is in social care, think about working with young people. It may be possible to find work experience in a variety of fields such as environmental work, administration, youth work, finance, etc. without it necessarily being within local government. Visit I want to work in ... for detailed information about some of these career areas.
- Don't limit your work experience to vacation time - being involved with voluntary projects alongside your study will improve your skills base and make you more competitive when you come to apply for a job. Organisations such as the SVS and Volunteering Fife may be running projects which interest you and which will provide evidence of your motivation for making a difference to people's lives.
- Develop transferable skills such as communication, organisation, team work, project management, people and resources management by joining the committees of student societies. This kind of involvement will also give you good examples of evidence for 'competency-based' applications and interviews.
- Adopt an Intern offers paid graduate internships in Scotland, some of which are in local councils and other public sector organisations.
- Work experience in other public sector bodies and charities shows similar work values and motivation
How to find a job
- Use local government job sites: LG Jobs and My Job Scotland
- If you know what region you would like to work in use the Local Council Directory to find individual websites and vacancy pages.
- The graduate scheme, The National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) operates in England and Wales and some local councils run their own graduate schemes. Use the Local Council Directory to check individual councils' websites.
- Sign up for Local Government Talent Pool, an online database of graduates interested in working in local government in England and Wales. This offers graduates the opportunity to showcase their skills and experience to potential local council employers, who are able to search the pool and invite suitable candidates to apply for jobs within their organisations.
- At present, there is no equivalent to the NGDP in Scotland, but you can access a searchable database of current vacancies at My Job Scotland as well at the individual council's sites. Some councils may have their own administrative schemes but also consider starting in a low level post and look for opportunities for advancement; almost all councils promote from within.
- Bear in mind that, during the current period of reduction in public sector spending, some local government vacancies are being advertised for internal applicants only. This can change if suitable applicants are not found so it is important to visit vacancy sites regularly and to be flexible, including geographically, when considering suitable entry points.
- Check the following key websites:
- JobsGoPublic: Public sector vacancies
- LG Jobs: Local government jobs in England and Wales
- My Job Scotland: Local government vacancies in Scotland
- National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP): National graduate training scheme for local government in England and Wales
- Opportunities: Public sector vacancies
- Public Jobs Direct
- Occasional local goverment vacancies:
- Prospects Jobs
- Target Jobs
- Careers Centre JobsOnline
- Adopt an Intern: paid graduate internships in Scotland
- You may also find local government vacancies in publications specific to the roles that you are interested in. Have a look at I want to work in ... for a list of relevant career areas. Specialist trade journals are worth consulting, especially if you have a skill, professional qualification or experience, or possibly for training positions.
- If you have a particular professional career in mind, you may have to consider Postgraduate Study or additional work experience to qualify for these kinds of posts, eg. Teacher, Town Planner, Social Worker, Environmental Health Officer.
Key Links and Resources
Careers Centre resources
Online
- Related wiki pages:
- direct.gov: One-stop-shop for public services
- LG Careers: Information about local government careers in England
- Publicservice.co.uk: Public sector news (free to read publications) and job search facility
- Prospects guide to Government and Public Administration
- TargetJobs guide to the Public Service and Government
- The Local Government Challenge: Annual competition - watch local government employees (senior managers of the future) take part in challenges addressing some of the important issues facing the sector.
Professional Bodies & Trade Organisations
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities: The representative voice of Scottish local government and also acts as the employers’ association on behalf of all Scottish councils
- Local Government Association: Voluntary membership body of local councils in England and Wales
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
USA
General Information
- Call to Serve
- Making the Difference
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- State and Local Government on the Net
- USA.gov
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Senate
Work Experience/Internships
- Internships in the US - Civil Service
- Internships in the US - Government
- Internships in the US - Public Affairs
- Internships in the US - Think Tanks and Public Policy
- USAjobs.gov e/Internships
Job Hunting
Connecting with University of St Andrews alumni already working in this sector is a great way to make contacts, gain an insight into what's happening in the sector, and in some cases alumni can become valuable mentors.
- LinkedIn – By joining the group University of St Andrews Alumni, and the sub-group University of St Andrews Alumni - Mentorship Programme, you'll be able to make contact directly with alumni. Further details can be found on our website: LinkedIn.
- Sheffield City Council, Leeds City Council, Perth and Kinross Council and the City of London Corporation' are some local authorities employing members of the University of St Andrews Alumni group.
How to get experience
Naturally, if you have had some experience whilst being a student, your insights into the work and chances of getting a job in local goverment after you graduate could be improved.
- At present there are no national work experience schemes for local government but many councils have temporary work opportunities. Make speculative applications to Human Resources departments to ask if they have suitable openings or at least an opportunity to visit or work shadow a current employee. Use a Local Council Directory to find contact details.
- Careers Centre JobsOnline occasionally receives vacancies.
- Try to get experience relevant to the area that you are interested in, even if it means working for another kind of organisation. For example, if your interest is in social care, think about working with young people. It may be possible to find work experience in a variety of fields such as environmental work, administration, youth work, finance, etc. without it necessarily being within local government. Visit I want to work in ... for detailed information about some of these career areas.
- Don't limit your work experience to vacation time - being involved with voluntary projects alongside your study will improve your skills base and make you more competitive when you come to apply for a job. Organisations such as the SVS and Volunteering Fife may be running projects which interest you and which will provide evidence of your motivation for making a difference to people's lives.
- Develop transferable skills such as communication, organisation, team work, project management, people and resources management by joining the committees of student societies. This kind of involvement will also give you good examples of evidence for 'competency-based' applications and interviews.
- Adopt an Intern offers paid graduate internships in Scotland, some of which are in local councils and other public sector organisations.
- Work experience in other public sector bodies and charities shows similar work values and motivation
How to find a job
- Use local government job sites: LG Jobs and My Job Scotland
- If you know what region you would like to work in use the Local Council Directory to find individual websites and vacancy pages.
- The graduate scheme, The National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) operates in England and Wales and some local councils run their own graduate schemes. Use the Local Council Directory to check individual councils' websites.
- Sign up for Local Government Talent Pool, an online database of graduates interested in working in local government in England and Wales. This offers graduates the opportunity to showcase their skills and experience to potential local council employers, who are able to search the pool and invite suitable candidates to apply for jobs within their organisations.
- At present, there is no equivalent to the NGDP in Scotland, but you can access a searchable database of current vacancies at My Job Scotland as well at the individual council's sites. Some councils may have their own administrative schemes but also consider starting in a low level post and look for opportunities for advancement; almost all councils promote from within.
- Bear in mind that, during the current period of reduction in public sector spending, some local government vacancies are being advertised for internal applicants only. This can change if suitable applicants are not found so it is important to visit vacancy sites regularly and to be flexible, including geographically, when considering suitable entry points.
- Check the following key websites:
- JobsGoPublic: Public sector vacancies
- LG Jobs: Local government jobs in England and Wales
- My Job Scotland: Local government vacancies in Scotland
- National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP): National graduate training scheme for local government in England and Wales
- Opportunities: Public sector vacancies
- Public Jobs Direct
- Occasional local goverment vacancies:
- Prospects Jobs
- Target Jobs
- Careers Centre JobsOnline
- Adopt an Intern: paid graduate internships in Scotland
- You may also find local government vacancies in publications specific to the roles that you are interested in. Have a look at I want to work in ... for a list of relevant career areas. Specialist trade journals are worth consulting, especially if you have a skill, professional qualification or experience, or possibly for training positions.
- If you have a particular professional career in mind, you may have to consider Postgraduate Study or additional work experience to qualify for these kinds of posts, eg. Teacher, Town Planner, Social Worker, Environmental Health Officer.
Key Links and Resources
Careers Centre resources
Online
- Related wiki pages:
- direct.gov: One-stop-shop for public services
- LG Careers: Information about local government careers in England
- Publicservice.co.uk: Public sector news (free to read publications) and job search facility
- Prospects guide to Government and Public Administration
- TargetJobs guide to the Public Service and Government
- The Local Government Challenge: Annual competition - watch local government employees (senior managers of the future) take part in challenges addressing some of the important issues facing the sector.
Professional Bodies & Trade Organisations
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities: The representative voice of Scottish local government and also acts as the employers’ association on behalf of all Scottish councils
- Local Government Association: Voluntary membership body of local councils in England and Wales
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
USA
General Information
- Call to Serve
- Making the Difference
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- State and Local Government on the Net
- USA.gov
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Senate
Work Experience/Internships
- Internships in the US - Civil Service
- Internships in the US - Government
- Internships in the US - Public Affairs
- Internships in the US - Think Tanks and Public Policy
- USAjobs.gov e/Internships
Job Hunting
