Working in local government

Local government touches the lives of everybody, every day.

If you’re passionate about making a real difference, then local government is the place for you.

Working in local government is incredibly rewarding and an excellent way to give back to your community.

The sector faces significant challenges and uncertainty, and it needs young minds and fresh insight to find innovative solutions to deliver important services to local people.

There has never been a more interesting and exciting time to join local government.

Local government is the backbone of our communities, protecting our most vulnerable residents.

It isn’t just council tax and bin collections – the sector provides more than 800 different services. These services include areas like health and social care, housing, children and young people, the environment and culture.

There are 339 councils across England and Wales. One of these could be the perfect place to start your career.

Each local authority faces unique challenges and opportunities in their area. There is a huge opportunity for you to tackle some of the sector’s biggest challenges and get stuck in a diverse range of experiences.

Teamwork

Local government work often involves teams of people who bring different strengths to a project. Many local government roles give you the chance to work closely with other people.

Working in Business Support, Property Management, IT or Fire and Public Safety will allow you to work as part of a team.

Planning and organisation

Delivering vital services needs people who are ready and willing to plan and organise projects. If you get the training and support you need, do you think you’d be able to manage your time and prioritise work so the right things get done first? Careers in local government planning departments, engineering, Environmental Health all need people who have great planning and organisation skills.

Motivation

It takes motivation to deliver the best services for local communities. When you’re working in local government, you’ll be motivated to do your best!

Teachers, Social workers, Customer Service and Legal teams all require motivated people who do their jobs because they care.

Commitment

Everyone in local goverment is committed to making a big positive impact on the local community. Are you curious and excited at the thought of taking that extra step to make a difference to local people?

Working in social care teams, occupational therapist teams or customer service teams will give you a chance to really show your commitment to your role.

Problem Solving

There may be times in life and work when we need to overcome a problem. This is true when you’re working in local government, too! Many of local government roles will give you the chance to use your problem-solving skills. Whatever kind of puzzle, problem or challenge you’re looking at, you can keep a clear head and think about ways to come up with some different solutions and test them to see if they will work.

Working in the electrical, surveying and highways teams will give you a fantastic chance to put this into practice.

How do you get these skills?

You already have these skills! They are life and work skills we all have.

You can also focus on these skills and build them over time through study, trying new things, and daily life.

You can start building your skills today through the free Young Professional programme with useful tips and online courses.

Local government is an excellent place to work, whether through entry level work or more experienced positions.

Example entry routes into local government:

• Apprenticeships
• T llevel industry placements
• Graduate schemes
• Scholarships
• Work experience
• Supported internships
• Traineeships
• Internships
• Other opportunities

It is important to keep a look at other opportunities within Local government. Councils have supported young people with the Kickstart scheme previously.

Young Employee Networks (YENs)

Some councils have Young Employee Networks (YENs) which are groups made by staff to promote the interests of young employees in the organization.

YENs often host social events as well as career events, for young people in the council to meet and make the most out of their experience at the council.

You can take up a leadership role in a YEN and gain many skills that will help you advance your career in local government.

• Architects/property management
• Business Support
• Building control/surveyors
• Children & Adult Social Care
• Conservation/ecology
• Contract Management
• Customer Service
• Digital & IT
• Education
• Engineering
• Environmental Health
• Fire Service
• Finance & Accounts

• Fire and Public Safety
• Groundwork and maintenance
• Health and Safety
• Highways
• Hospitality
• Housing
• Human Resources
• Leisure & Tourism
• Legal
• Libraries
• Maintenance/Construction
• Planning
• Policy/research & analysis

• Procurement
• Public Health
• Revenues/Benefits
• Research/Analysis
• Trading Standards
• Trade
• Transport
• Waste Management/Recycling
• Water Resources
• Wellbeing
• Youth Work

What does local government involve?

Local government is responsible for a range of vital services for people and businesses in defined areas. Among them are well known functions such as social care, schools, housing and planning and waste collection, but also lesser known ones such as licensing, business support, registrar services and pest control.

Local government – who does what?

In England and Wales, more than one million people work in local government across a range of different types of authorities, providing more than 800 different services to local communities.

Local councils, which is the most common type of local authority, are made up of councillors who are elected by the public in local elections.

Councillors work with local people and partners, such as local businesses and other organisations, to agree and deliver on local priorities. The decisions are implemented by permanent council staff, council officers, who deliver services on a daily basis.

Funding of local government

Local authorities receive funding from a range of sources, including Government grants, council tax and fees and charges. Together, council tax and business rates make up local authorities’ largest source of income.

Types of local government

Depending on where you live, local government consists of at least one or two tiers of authorities. Two tiers, with responsibilities of local services divided between them:

24 county councils
181 district, borough or city councils
One (unitary) tier providing all services:

59 unitary councils
33 London boroughs
36 metropolitan boroughs

Across England and Wales, there are also around 9,000 parish and town councils, 10 National Parks responsible for conservation and promotion of scenic areas, as well as local authorities responsible specifically for policing and fire and rescue services.

In total there are 339 councils across England and Wales. One of them is YOUR local council, where you could work.