Blayney Shire Council is in the midst of a five year project that is addressing the skills shortage now and into the future. Located three and a half hours drive from Sydney in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Blayney has a population of 3,000 people and employs approximately 65 staff. It is the centre of a closely settled and populous district, which stretches east to Bathurst, southwest to Cowra and north to Orange. With unemployment in the area significantly below the State average, Council is faced with the challenge of recruiting staff from these larger cities.
In 2005, Blayney identified that the average age of its senior staff was approximately 56 years, and realised the loss of corporate knowledge that would occur in the next ten years if this was to continue.
Under the ‘Creating the Next Generation’ initiative, Council has implemented a range of policies that have already seen the average age in strategic departments decrease by up to 20 years, at the same time maintaining the balance of corporate knowledge.
Blayney Shire’s General Manager, Andrew Roach, said as a small Council, Blayney needed to create a work environment that would attract the right professional people.
“Along with an ageing workforce, we were also facing the pressures of amalgamation and needed to find ways to best use our resources,” he said. “Younger staff seem to have the zest to take on more challenges, while working the same hours as that of their senior counterparts.”
To attract young people, Council is offering flexible working arrangements, private lease back vehicle arrangements and training benefits, such as support to take up masters degrees and so forth.
Andrew Roach said with 65 per cent of staff now aged in their twenties, this is helping to attract more young people into the organisation.
Council also aims to have five per cent of its workforce made up of apprentices and trainees each year. Underlying this goal is a key alliance Blayney has formed with neighbouring Councils, Wellington and Cabonne, the WBC Alliance. The WBC Alliance provides undergraduate university scholarships in areas where Local Government is experiencing skills shortages, including engineering, finance, environmental health and town planning. The scholarships are offered to students living within the WBC alliance area, with students required to work in their holidays for one of the alliance Councils. Once they graduate, the Alliance provides a permanent position.
Andrew Roach said the strategic alliance is extremely beneficial for Blayney as it is the smallest of the three Councils.
“The partnership allows my staff to confront greater challenges and opportunities than would have been available just working for Blayney,” he said. “As well as working with the other Councils on their committees, they can also work with building inspectors and other contractors, bringing a variety of different aspects to their position.”
In addition to attracting younger staff, Council has made the workplace a more comfortable and safer place to work. A Risk Management Officer was brought in to develop WorkSafe Method Statements for the entire organisation and also addressed OH&S requirements.
As well as a significant decrease in insurance premiums, Council now holds the New South Wales record of 415 days without lost time injuries. There has also been a substantial reduction in sick leave.
Andrew Roach said annual staff development days have also received positive feedback from staff.
“We hold the days every 18 months to bring a bit of fun and a different aspect to working life,” he said. “We close the entire Council for the day and arrange a half day of team building activities such as rock climbing and bridge building, followed by a discussion on how we can make Council better. We also distribute staff and peer surveys, for anyone that doesn’t feel as though they can participate in the discussion.”
For more information contact Andrew Roach on (02) 6368 9605
