An interview with Liz Razzano,
Manager Organisational Development,
Burnside City Council in South Australia.
According to Liz Razzano, ‘smarter training’ will be key to the future of Local Government training and development programs.
She said councils must tailor their training programs to ensure they genuinely align with a person’s ability to grow in their position and beyond.
“Training and development is not just important to ensure staff have the skills needed to perform their jobs, but it keeps them motivated, helps with career development, enables them to gain greater perspective of positions available, and is an excellent staff attraction and retention tool,” Liz Razzano said.
“If this training is not aligned to what a staff member’s needs or desires are, this can demotivate staff and can result in them losing interest in training all together.”
Liz Razzano further stated that tailored training programs can also save councils money, making them more sustainable into the future.
“Some councils suggest staff undertake training, but it may not be relevant to their job, and the employee is not part of the decision making process of their future and training needs,” she said. “But by doing training smarter – plotting career paths and targeting training accordingly – it will make the training more relevant for staff members, and council will only be paying for what is necessary and useful.”
Liz Razzano said on the job training is one of the key ways to address the skills shortage.
“This doesn’t mean hiring people with no skills, but hiring people with skills that can be built on,” she said. “They must have a flexible approach and willingness to develop their learning through formal qualifications and structured training at the required level.
“They need to be willing to build and go beyond the boundaries of their current skills.”
Liz Razzano said like many councils, Burnside is committed to supporting and advancing its staff.
“The shortage of qualified staff in areas such as engineering and finance will continue into the future, so we must prepare our local young people to come out of school equipped with the knowledge of what Local Government can offer in terms of careers,” she said.
“Things like work experience and traineeships allow young people to learn more about the roles they can take on. It also gives them an opportunity to see what it could be like before they commit themselves to a higher level of study that may be required for those positions.
“Burnside works with local schools to discuss career opportunities with local young people, and is an active member of the Local Government of South Australia’s Shape Your World careers campaign, which aims to attract more young people into Local Government careers.
“Council also offers a standard number of
traineeships each year, which assists to address the skills shortage, but we also do it because we believe it is important for students to be informed about their career options when making choices about study.”
Liz Razzano said that councils should also be prepared to provide higher duty opportunities to existing staff so that they can try out their options, responsibilities and skills before deciding if such as career move is for them. If it is, they can then work with council to come up with a study plan that will enable them to achieve this goal.
Liz Razzano said that training staff to be trainers can also be a good way to save money, but in most cases,
large numbers are needed to undergo the initial training to cater for those who leave or take on different roles.
“It is more important that councils partner with training organisations to ensure the training is suited to both the organisation and staff needs, thus making it more cost effective and efficient,” she said. “Partnering with neighbouring councils is also a good way to cut training costs.
“Burnside is currently considering training opportunities in bulk as a result of its membership of the Eastern Regional Alliance (ERA) Group.
“Comprising seven South Australian eastern metropolitan councils, the ERA Group has a history of successful cross border partnerships, resource sharing, cooperation and alliances.”
Liz Razzano said that aside from formal qualifications, basic human resources are often forgotten in the training and development scheme, particularly in Local Government.
“Across Australia, we should have better structured programs in place for new employees, particularly those that have not worked in Local Government before,” she said.
“Our sector can be quite different to the private sector and it is important that we have a specific transition program in place that details the things that are unique to Local Government.”
