Local government officer
Local government officers are responsible for assisting in the development of council policies and procedures and ensure they are put into practice, making sure that local services are delivered effectively.
A local government officer is a diverse and wide-ranging profession that covers a breadth of officer roles, with many specialist areas including housing, finance, human resources, education, planning, transport, tourism, libraries, leisure and recreation, regeneration, social work, health and IT.
Working in local government is likely to involve contact with members of the public, councillors, administrators and specialists in other departments or other local councils/authorities. Some posts, particularly more senior roles, will also involve committee work. Some less senior roles will work more exclusively within specific departments, but can still be responsible for a wide range of services.
Specific activities vary depending on the local authority and department, and also on the level of responsibility. Some departments will involve a lot of work with the public, others may have a more technical function and some will work more predominantly with other council staff and departments.
Typical activities will include:
Although this area of work is open to all graduates, a relevant degree/HND in the following subjects may increase your chances:
Degree discipline is less important than personal qualities and skills; an understanding of political structures and knowledge and experience of local government work are considered more important than subject studied.
Entry without a degree, HND or foundation degree is commonly possible, and indeed there are many opportunities to join local government at any level and work your way up to more senior roles. A pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not needed.
Local government is one of the largest graduate employers in the country, with graduates taken on by all councils in all service areas, and offers the ability to complete professional training while working.
In England and Wales, a graduate programme exists - National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) for local government. The NGDP recruits up to 80 trainees to join the programme each October, and candidates are placed with a host local authority and experience roles in a variety of work environments. The scheme runs for two years and applicants should possess (or have a predicted) 2:1.
Many local authorities also run their own in-house graduate or management training schemes, with management trainees sought in a number of disciplines across various departments. The programme will be flexible but will run for two to three years and will include work placements in a number of different departments and roles. Successful entrants to the programme may also be expected to undertake a postgraduate diploma in a specific discipline and the salary will be linked to time spent on the programme and further qualifications gained.
Such programmes have a high success rate with many trainees going on to hold senior positions within the authority. Competition can be fierce though, so pre-entry experience is at the very least desirable if not essential.
Entry qualifications vary for each local council/authority, although many will have minimum requirements for four or five GCSEs (A*-C) including English and maths, or equivalent. At whatever level, applicants with relevant work experience are often preferred.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
Some local authorities take students on work experience placements, which can be a useful resource for anyone interested in a career in local government. This will help get an insight into the work of local councils/authorities, gain practical pre-entry experience and improve working knowledge. It will also help develop valuable transferable skills and provide relevant references.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Most local councils/authorities provide employee training and development. Many have shown their dedication to the continued professional development of staff by achieving Investors in People (IiP) status, which is a national initiative to promote excellence in training and development.
It is common for all new starters at every level to have a period of induction training prior to starting the job. This is then followed by on-the-job training from experienced staff, supported by any formal training courses that are required.
For graduates, many local councils/authorities will run specific graduate training schemes, or management trainee schemes, which will typically be a series of work placements in a variety of roles and departments and will generally be supported by further academic qualifications.
Many local councils/authorities assess employees’ individual training needs through regular job appraisals, which enable the line manager and the employee to identify current and future training needs. This could involve in-house training sessions or support towards other formal qualifications.
Membership of professional bodies will depend on the department in which you are employed. Training in a specific area relevant to the job will often provide the basis for membership of a professional group. Further information on qualifications and professional bodies is available on the Local Government Careers website.
There are excellent promotion opportunities in local government. With the right mix of knowledge and experience there will be many opportunities for career development and progression into senior management positions.
There is no typical career path, however, because of the diverse nature of the profession and the range of jobs, roles and departments, and people will tend to pursue different routes, depending on their own strengths and interests.
Movement between internal departments and between different local councils/authorities is quite common and can be a good way of gaining broader experience and advancing your career. Many local councils/authorities allow you to transfer to different departments on a secondment basis.
You will find that promotion depends not only on your ability, but also the size of the authority and the frequency of vacancies. It may sometimes be necessary to move to another council/authority for promotion to a senior position.
Local councils/authorities are the sole employer of local government officers. However, local government is one of the largest graduate employers in the country, with 478 local councils in the UK, employing over two million people in over 600 different occupational roles. Local government is a huge service provider covering areas such as education, leisure, property, emergency services, housing, community, environmental and social services. Education alone employs over 900,000 people and corporate services include functions such as:
Local government roles are affected by any downturn in the national economy and job cuts can occur when funding is low and budgets need to be trimmed down.
Recruitment agencies also handle vacancies. See the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) website for details.
Many local authorities also produce internal vacancy bulletins, so gaining casual term-time work or even taking a post to get 'a foot in the door' could be used to find those otherwise hidden vacancies.
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