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.
There are 355 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.
Local Government is an excellent place to work, whether through entry level work or more experienced positions.
Pathways
Example entry routes into local government:
Apprenticeships
T Level Industry Placements
Graduate Schemes
Scholarships
Work Experience
Supported Internships
Traineeships
Internships
Other opportunities
Central Bedfordshire Council offers a number of Apprenticeships as well as Work Experience placements.
National Graduate Development Programme
Students and graduates - ready to fast-track your leadership career in the public sector?
Local councils are looking for the next generation of managers to improve local communities and lives. Candidate applications for the NGDP are closed until Autumn 2023, but you can register your interest today.
What else do I need?
Due to the variety of career paths in local government, all kinds of skills are useful when delivering vital services to the community.
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?
Working in 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 government 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.
Myth Busting
“It’s all about council tax and bin collections”.
No its much more than that – 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. Local government is the backbone of our communities, protecting our most vulnerable residents.