Local Government Careers web site goes live
A new website, www.localgovernmentcareers.govt.nz, has been launched to encourage people to consider local government as
a career option.
“Councils are competing nationally and internationally to attract the wide range of skilled and talented people needed
now and in the future,” says Phillippa Wilson, President of the NZ Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM).
“To raise the profile of local government as an interesting, challenging and rewarding sector in which to work, the new
website contains information explaining local government’s role, the wide range of career options available, case
studies, career advice and a jobs board.”
Research that SOLGM commissioned in 2005 showed local government needed to raise its profile as an employer of choice.
“The research showed that councils faced key shortages now and in the future in engineering, planning and building
inspection staff,” Mrs Wilson says. “It also showed that people had a mixed range of perceptions about local government
as a place to work. “Many were positive – seeing local government as a place where you can contribute to the community
through careers in one of the 36 distinct areas of local government operations.
“We have built on this with our ‘People Shaping Progress’ brand.”
The new website is just one of a range of initiatives being planned by SOLGM as part of its Recruitment and Retention
Project.
“I believe that over the next year or so we will see a positive change in the way secondary and tertiary students,
people working in other sectors, and overseas immigrants see the local government sector,” Mrs Wilson says. “It can be
an exciting and rewarding career option.”
ENDS