Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC) has taken a proactive step to attract young people to work in Local Government. Council is supporting and hosting seven school based traineeships across the skill shortage areas of civil construction, asset maintenance and business services.
Designed to encourage school students to take an interest in Local Government, the traineeships are focused on areas where LMCC is currently experiencing difficulty in recruiting or retaining staff due to Australia’s ageing workforce and a global skills shortage.
LMCC is aware that significant incentive is needed to encourage young people to work in Local Government and the new traineeship initiative is part of its Human Resources strategy to ensure sustained workforce numbers and guarantee skills and knowledge to deliver services into the future.
As part of the traineeship, students will work with Council one day per week throughout Year 11 and Year 12. Completion of the traineeship will then count towards their HSC.
“This traineeship initiative will drive the profile of LMCC as being an employer interested in and supportive of the local community,” said LMCC Director of Operations, Amanda Colbey. “It provides opportunities to build the careers and skills of young people in the area.
“Through supporting learning and development opportunities and sustainable workforce planning, Council will demonstrate its commitment to its people.”
Career Links, a Local Community Partnership in the Australian Government’s Career Advice Australia (CAA) network, has been integral in the design and development of the LMCC traineeship initiative.
Career Links Program Coordinator, Kerrie Parkinson, worked closely with Amanda Colbey and with the support of their respective employers developed the LMCC traineeship initiative.
“Career Links staff have been fantastic in assisting us in bringing this initiative to fruition,” Amanda Colbey said. “They have provided advice and insight throughout the process, enabling us to better understand the people involved, including school students and careers advisors. This has also allowed us to better understand the curriculum of school work within which the traineeship scheme will fall.”
The financial implications of the traineeship scheme are minimal, as it is a government supported initiative and results in a break even situation. However, Council makes a significant contribution in the time spent supervising and coaching the new trainees in the workplace.
Each trainee will be assigned a LMCC staff member to act as a mentor to provide feedback and direction on the trainee’s performance in the workplace. In addition, an HR person will be assigned to act as a central contact for all personal issues.
Amanda Colbey said an advantage of running the traineeship scheme within Local Government is the industry diverse range of services provided under the one employer banner.
“Subsequently, this bridges people through various careers within the same industry,” she said. “This is evident in the range of traineeships on offer.”
A rigorous application process will ensure only students displaying interest and aptitude in the chosen areas will be afforded a traineeship placement. Students will be chosen from 14 participating schools in the Lake Macquarie area.
The traineeships will take two years to complete and successful students will obtain a Certificate II in Local Government or a Certificate II in Local Government (Operational Works).
Career Links will help manage the recruitment process and ensure Council has ongoing support throughout the program.
*Copy supplied by Government Skills Australia
