As part of an Australian –first agreement, Randwick City Council staff completing internal learning and development programs will be given credit towards post-graduate study at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
The arrangement is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Randwick City Council General Manager Ray Brownlee and Penny Holloway from the Board of the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government (ACELG).
Randwick City Council is the first Australian partner in ACELG’s Advancing Leadership initiative, which aims to establish a national network of best practice innovators in local government leadership development.
Participants are able to undertake a Graduate Certificate in Local Government Leadership at UTS and receive credits for select subjects already completed in-house at Council.
The Local Government Leadership course is tailored to meet the needs of local government professionals holding a significant supervisory or management position and managers or elected members who aspire to a broader leadership role.
Participants will develop advanced skills and knowledge in personal, professional, team and community leadership within the local government setting, specifically tailored to their geographical context.
Randwick General Manager Ray Brownlee said the agreement recognises the quality in-house training provided by Randwick while providing additional leadership programs to train the future leaders of local government.
“Randwick Council has developed an excellent range of in-house training and leadership programs and I am delighted that we are the first council to sign up to the Advancing Leadership initiative.
“This partnership provides the opportunity for our staff to continue their leadership training with one of the country’s finest universities. Partnerships like this are helping develop future leaders in local government, ” Mr Brownlee said.
Penny Holloway said that ACELG was delighted to be collaborating with Randwick City Council in the first council partnership of this kind in Australia.
“This is an exciting and new way of working between a university provider and a council, both with the common commitment to advance local government leadership by offering robust and flexible development opportunities,” she said.
