A targeted recruitment campaign has been launched, which aims to address critical workforce challenges in local authorities.
The Find Your Path campaign focuses on attracting young people aged between 18 and 27 to local authority roles, including those delivering the place services we all use such as local highways, waste and recycling, green space and access, as well as people based roles.
The initiative has been developed in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT), the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), along with Colas, the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and the Midlands Highway Alliance Plus (MHA).
The campaign, designed together with local authorities, will showcase the unique opportunities in the place sector of local government, highlighting the variety of jobs available.
Research by ADEPT's Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) revealed a stark workforce landscape, with only 11% of local authority staff aged 30 or younger, a lack of diversity, high vacancy rates across critical service areas and urgent skills gaps in environmental and technological domains.
As part of the campaign development process, detailed focus groups were conducted with young people to understand their career aspirations and perceptions of local government. These discussions revealed that most young people don't understand what local authorities do, are not attracted to local authority careers and are unaware of the range of jobs available.
The eight week pilot campaign, developed by Eleven Agency, will run in five local authority areas: Barnsley, Hounslow, Oxfordshire, Plymouth and South Gloucestershire. It will focus on innovative recruitment strategies with the aim of showing the opportunities and meaningful roles available within local government.
A social media campaign will be run on TikTok, Meta and YouTube and a dedicated website has been developed where applicants can view live vacancies or register their interest.
Cllr Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Core Services, said: “We’re pleased to be taking part in the ‘Find your Path’ campaign to attract talented young individuals to local government.
"We offer great benefits, support and flexible working across various sectors including highways, waste, green spaces, planning, social care, and more.
“We’re a double award-winning, high-performing council, where we inspire ambition and support people to develop and grow.
“There’s so much happening in our thriving borough and your talent and skills will really make a difference in people’s lives.”
Ann Carruthers, President of ADEPT, said: “The place sector is facing a critical workforce challenge that threatens our ability to deliver essential services and drive innovation.“Young people are crucial to the future of local government: without attracting young and diverse talent, we risk being unable to develop sustainable solutions for our communities, implement new technologies and meet the complex environmental challenges of the future.
“This campaign is our proactive response which aims to showcase the exciting, impactful careers on offer, that many don't even know exist."
Read the full press release on the Adept website.
