Workforce Development

ACELG

 

Click on logo above to visit ACELG website

Background
In April 2006 LGMA National facilitated a Skills Shortage Forum in Canberra to explore and define skills shortage issues in local government. An outcome of the forum was the formation of a National Skills Shortage Steering Committee, and the development of the National Skills Shortage Strategy for Local Government.  A key platform of the national strategy was the establishment of a virtual Local Government Centre for Excellence to showcase, promote and develop best practice in local government workplace development.

2009 ACELG launch
In November 2008, the Rudd Government announced an $8 million commitment to funding a Centre of Excellence for Local Government to help improve the capacity of the sector’s workforce. Following the second meeting of the Australian Council for Local Government (ACLG) in June 2009, LGMA was named as a member of the winning consortium alongside the University of Sydney (UTS), Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), University of Canberra and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA).

ACELG's activities are grouped in six program areas, with specific program partners responsible for delivery of different program areas:
- Research and policy foresight
- Innovation and best practice
- Governance and strategic leadership
- Organisation capacity building
- Rural, remote and Indigenous Australia
- Workforce development

Program Action Plan 6.0 Workforce Development - Local Government Practice Unit
LGMA National's ACELG Program Action Plan 6.0 is Workforce Development -
To formulate and implement a national workforce development strategy and related measures to make Local Government an employer of choice

• Establish LG Practice Unit to provide an interface between ACELG and the sector;
• Review previous skills strategies against current developments and economic conditions and evolve into LG Workforce Development Blueprint;
• Implement LG Workforce Development Blueprint recommendations in order of priority; and
• Develop and implement a national LG Indigenous Employment Program

On 23-24 March 2010 in Canberra, the LG Practice Unit co-hosted a National Local Government Workforce Development Forum with Government Skills Australia (GSA) for key stakeholders in LG workforce development. This will become an annual event.

More detailed information on the development and activities of the ACELG Workforce Development program and other ACELG programs can be found on www.acelg.org.au once the first phase of website development is complete and live in early May 2010. Meanwhile more general information about the set up phase of ACELG can be found by consulting the website in its current interim form.  This page will link through to the new ACELG Workforce Development page once it goes live in May.

View initial media announcement issued by LGMA in 2009.