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Long-term reform critical to local government skills needs

MEDIA RELEASE
Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government

Date: Tuesday, 3 March 2009

From the office of the National President.

Long-term reform critical to local government skills needs

The aging population, global financial crisis and new ways of doing business are the key drivers behind the local government sector defining its skills needs over the next five to ten years.

The drivers were identified during the national local government skills forum facilitated by Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA) on 19 and 20 February in Melbourne.

The invitation-only event was attended by some 50 representatives from local government professional peak bodies, local government associations, relevant education and training bodies and industry skills councils together with commonwealth and state departments responsible for local government.

The forum was held to review the 2007 National Skills Shortage Strategy for Local Government; evaluate the federal government’s new skills’ initiatives; assess the impact of the global financial crisis on the sector’s skills supply; and determine the sector’s responses to its future skills needs.

Speaking at the conclusion of the forum, LGMA national president, Ray Pincombe said that whilst many of the initiatives promoted by the national skills shortage strategy were validated, there is a significant need for long-term reform of how we do business in local government.

“Local government must urgently improve the way it approaches workforce planning and development to ensure our sector’s capacity and ability to deliver on existing and new community needs,” Mr Pincombe said.

"Greater emphasis needs to be placed on regional groupings of councils doing more with automation and consolidation of back office operations. This would reduce demand on skills and achieve greater economies of scale.

“Our sector needs to unpack specialist roles and remove pressures on some of our roles such as planning and engineering by enabling councils to use more para-professional, project management, administrative and financial support staff. A coordinated and collaborative approach is also needed on employment and training, particularly with mature-age workers.

Mr Pincombe also identified the lack of employment data in the sector as being critical to our growth and sustainability.

“Workforce planning and development is non-existent,” Mr Pincombe said. “Our sector does not have the necessary employment data to analyse and forecast trends. Had this information been available, we may have been in a better position to identify our emerging skills requirements.”

An outcomes document is being prepared by LGMA on behalf of the sector for consideration by the National Local Government Skills Shortage Steering Committee later this month. The outcomes document will propose our sector’s response to its future skills needs.

Ends

For more information contact Helen Diggerson on + 61 3 9682 9222 / 0414 376 924 or John Ravlic on + 61 3 9682 9222.