Jobs Summit to help councils build sustainable workforces
WITH long-term challenges in attracting and retaining staff in local government, an innovative jobs summit will be held on Wednesday, May 1 at Swissotel in Sydney.
The inaugural Careers at Council Jobs Summit is being conducted by Local Government NSW, on behalf of councils nationally, to provide an opportunity for decision-makers to learn more about recent changes in the employment market.
President of Local Government NSW Cr Darriea Turley AM said that the summit would enable council officers and staff to share successful council practices that contribute to building a skilled and sustainable workforce.
“91 per cent of local governments across Australia, reported they had experienced skills shortages in 2021-22,” Cr Turley said. “Data from LGNSW’S HR Metrics survey of councils in 2022/23 found that the total staff turnover rate was 18 per cent which is above a generally healthy range of 9–12 per cent,” Cr Turley added.
She said the summit would feature specialists in labour market analysis and employment marketing, along with council case studies that explore ways to better engage with our future workforce, from the school and university sectors and untapped talent pools.
The summit will discuss models of flexibility that work for employees and employers, the impact of job redesign, and effective succession planning. It will also look to the future and the impact of AI on job roles and service delivery.
“This is a crucial one-day event for local government HR recruitment teams, elected members, general managers, and hiring managers and I strongly recommend all those with an interest in our sector to attend,” Cr Turley said.
“We all know the difficulties and challenges that all councils are having with skills shortages and attracting and retaining staff,” she concluded.