| Local councils face staff shortage |
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| Written by Adrie van der Luijt | |
| Monday, 21 April 2008 | |
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Local councils may struggle to run services as a third of staff are due to retire within ten years.
A new report by think tank the New Local Government Network (NLGN) finds that many councils could be left understaffed as “authorities are set to lose significantly higher proportions of senior managers over the next decade” compared to other areas of the public sector. Largest employment sector Local government employees make up 12.6 per cent of the country’s workforce and nearly half (47 per cent) of the public sector workforce. Local government is the largest employment sector in England, employing 2,204,000 members of staff, equating to 1,563,000 full time equivalents. The report, supported by the Leadership Centre for Local Government, the Learning and Skills Council and Veredus, found that a combination of the “baby-boom” generation retiring and few graduates wanting a career in local government has led to the crisis. The focus groups of graduates questioned as part of this research highlighted the stark prejudices held by many against careers in local government, for instance, describing average council staff as “definitely middle-aged, probably wearing glasses, slightly overweight … white, middle-class man” and “spending their whole lives carrying out the kind of minutiae focusing on these things like parking fines and what type of seat is going to be at the bus stop”. Transfer-fee The problem is particularly acute in local government as two thirds of employees are over 40, whilst the proportion of those under 25 is half that of the wider economy. Furthermore, figures in the research identify 100 per cent of county councils, 94.7 per cent of London Boroughs, 87.5 per cent of English unitary authorities, 87.5 per cent of metropolitan districts as having had difficulties recruiting at the managerial and professional level. Leading Lights: Recruiting the next generation in local government criticises many council management structures as “not currently fit-for-purpose” and calls on councils to be more outward looking when recruiting for posts. It recommends the introduction of a “transfer-fee” style system where councils are rewarded if they offer staff training by receiving a fee if they move on to another authority. It also calls for greater support for middle managers as well as fixed term contracts for management staff. Graduate recruitment scheme NLGN found that whilst many graduates want to work in the public sector, very few are excited by the prospect of working in local government. The think tank argues that the Government should set up a “National Governing Britain Fast Track” graduate recruitment scheme for the entire public service and scrap the current system of having separate schemes for local and central government. This would allow graduates to gain experience of working in both Whitehall and local government. The author of the report, Nigel Keohane said that the research revealed a depressingly negative impression of working in local government. He added that analysis showed, however, that approaches to attracting talent too often reinforced negative perceptions. Keohane pointed out that jobs in local government were not marketed to an audience of the most talented but to a pre-defined catchment, whilst mechanisms for recruitment exacerbate this trend. Jobs are not ‘sold’ for what they actually do, for their contribution to society or for the “career development opportunities they offer. Yet, these are the incentives most attractive to potential recruits. A wide range of excellent benefits and an enviable pension are hardly ever marketed, even for senior posts,” Keohane concluded. Related articles
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