School leavers are the primary focus of a new initiative that aims to redress the skills shortage facing Local Governments in Western Australia.
The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) ‘Get On Board’ program provides free resources to councils across Western Australia, with the purpose of targeting school leavers as they consider their career and study options for the future.
WALGA President, Councillor Bill Mitchell, said the ‘Get On Board’ promotional kit is just one element of an ongoing recruitment strategy. This strategy comprises a Statewide television advertising campaign and an overseas recruitment service, as well as representation from the sector at numerous careers and employment expos both in Western Australia and overseas.
“Local Government in Western Australia faces the ongoing challenge of attracting and retaining staff to the sector,” Councillor Mitchell said.
“This initiative will provide Local Governments with support in promoting the sector, as well as giving school leavers the opportunity to learn about roles from people currently involved in them.
“Many individual Local Governments across the State have also conducted local campaigns to help attract employees, and this kit is designed to complement those initiatives.”
With an industry that employs over 12,000 people across 30 different professional streams ranging from lifesaving to accounting, careers in Local Governments are often overlooked due to a lack of awareness from recent graduates.
“Local Governments in Western Australia have the advantage of being able to offer young graduates attractive career prospects virtually anywhere in the State that many industries would find hard to match,” Councillor Mitchell said.
“The ‘Get On Board’ Promotional Packs are designed to show students the broad career prospects that WA Local Governments have to offer, and we anticipate that this will become a continuing initiative for promoting Local Government careers in the future.”
