The Local Government Association (LGA) Group has published the results of its annual Local Government Workforce Survey for England.
The Local Government Workforce Survey 2009 was conducted between June and August 2009 in England and Wales.The IDeA and Local Government Employers (LGE), together with the rest of the LGA Group, will draw on these results in supporting councils to develop a ‘fit for the future’ workforce and in producing the English Local Government Workforce Strategy 2010.
Key findings
The findings of this survey gauge progress in implementing the English Local Government Workforce Strategy 2007. Findings include:
71 per cent of councils have Investors in People status for the whole council – an increase from 51 per cent in 2001 – with 82 per cent of the workforce covered, compared to 38 per cent in 2001.
Councils are increasing the number of apprenticeships they offer, from an average of three per council last year, to 10 per council this year.
Nearly a quarter of councils – 23 per cent – reported significant skills gaps in strategic commissioning for key specialists: 20 per cent in business process improvement; 19 per cent in change management for senior and middle managers; 18 per cent in performance management for all managers.
In 2008/09 the median gross training expenditure (GTE) was £305 per employee, the highest level since 2001. However, nearly a third of respondents – 32 per cent – thought that GTE would decrease in 2009/10.
Median GTE per member was £218, the lowest level since 2003.
Councils reported a median average of 1.4 off-the-job training days per employee in 2008/09.
These findings are for England only. The Local Government Workforce Strategy does not cover Wales, where action on shared workforce issues is led by the Welsh Local Government Association. Individual councils who participated, including Welsh councils, are able to benchmark their responses against other councils’ responses through the Local Government Analysis and Research benchmarking tool.
Full survey with supporting documentation and details of the benchmarking tool – on the Local Government Association website
