Victorian councils are hoping to stem growing skill shortages by marketing the sector to new graduates. Over the past year, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has been working with Councils and a special interest group of human resources professionals to develop a two year graduate program. The program, known as GoGrad, will be launched at careers fairs across the State in March.
MAV President, Councillor Brad Matheson, said GoGrad is an exciting venture that will be instrumental in assisting Victorian councils to attract and retain high calibre staff into the future.
“By establishing a graduate program we aim to improve the capacity and attractiveness of the sector to talented graduates from all study disciplines,” he said. “This is a positive step towards addressing some of the employment issues that exist within the Local Government sector.
“There is a real shortage of staff and skills in key Local Government areas, such as planning, environmental health and engineering. For obvious geographic reasons, rural and regional areas have added difficulty attracting and retaining young staff. GoGrad will provide a range of incentives and opportunities to encourage new graduates to consider Local Government job opportunities and will help position the sector as an ‘employer of choice’ for graduates.”
Graduates will receive structured ongoing support through an induction to the Local Government sector and regular training and development sessions. Recruitment of graduates will begin this March with placements beginning in January 2005.
For further information on GoGrad contact Vicky Mavros on (03) 9667 5518 or email vmavros@mav.asn.au
