Focus on the East Midlands

Janet Beaumont, chief executive of Local Government East Midlands, takes a look at how the region is ensuring the challenge of workforce development is met in the future.

‘Get on local government’ is the national campaign to address skills for life in the local government workforce. The campaign aims to get local authority employers to take a more proactive, sustained and strategic approach to workplace skills. This means getting local authority employers to encourage skills for life in the workplace. These skills are defined as the ability to read, write and speak in English, and to use maths at a level necessary to function at work and in society in general. Learning will develop the confidence, knowledge and skills of individuals and these attributes will benefit both the employer and the individual: at work (pictured), at home and as citizens.

Skills awards
So what’s happening in the East Midlands? As part of the wider issue of workforce development, there is a regional skills for life steering group in the East Midlands, whose role is to give direction to the implementation of the local government skills for life strategy – that is, the ‘Get on local government’ campaign and its award scheme, the ‘Get On (GO) local government’ award. Launched in May 2006, GO aims to help local authorities implement the strategy cohesively, in a way that is relevant for them as employers and is embedded within the whole organisation.

The award scheme identifies and accredits those authorities that sign up to skills for life, and that work with their staff to ensure that everyone is encouraged – and has the opportunities – to reach their full potential and improve their skills to level 2 (equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C) and beyond. A good example of how it is all working is provided by a council in our region with an ageing workforce. Many people – especially those over the age of 40 – will have started their careers when offices relied on typewriters and secretaries.

Computer training
To assist employees whose day-to-day jobs now require them to use spreadsheets, databases and presentational software such as PowerPoint, the council appointed a trainer to run a computer skills course – the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) programme. Staff had the option of putting themselves forward during their annual development interviews. More than 100 staff – a tenth of the workforce – passed the ECDL course. And councillors have been given laptops and training on how to use them, with the option of also doing the ECDL.

The course has proved so successful that there is now a waiting list of people wishing to enrol. Over the coming years, the council hopes to train most of its staff. Starter evening classes have also been provided for those people who need a little more basic training to get them up and running with computers. These classes have mainly been targeted at manual staff, such as refuse workers.

So far, 17 authorities out of 46 in the East Midlands are signed up to the GO local government award. This is in addition to City of Lincoln council, Derbyshire county council, Lincolnshire county council and Nottingham city council, which have all achieved the full award. This is well in advance of the government target set by the then Department for Education and Skills (now Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills) which stated that each region should have 25% of their authorities signed up to the GO award by March 2008.