South Australian council members and staff will have the opportunity to undertake more than 230 training and education subjects, including 42 new subject areas in 2011.
Mediation processes, understanding Government and Parliamentary processes, strategic planning, interpretation of statutory and legal documents, bullying, discrimination and drugs and alcohol in the workplace are just some of the courses available from the Local Government Association Education and Training service.
Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) Acting CEO Barry Parsons said the business of running councils is becoming increasingly complex for both elected members and staff, and that the new education and training courses are reflective of the diverse issues of Local Government.
“Council officers and elected members are expected to tackle complex financial issues, from the preparation of long terms financial plans, decision making for good governance, budget management, development approvals and the control of building and construction costs,” Barry Parsons said.
“As society’s requirements increase, so too does the need for councillors and staff to be across new issues.
“As we have many new councillors, education and training is particularly important.
“Councillors and senior staff are expected to have media and presentation skills, to have a working knowledge of child friendly cities, to write policy and possess political nous.
“To assist our elected members and staff, the LGA Education and Training service is required to canvas an ever growing list of training sessions to ensure that elected members and staff have the best tools available to operate successful councils.”
Barry Parsons said the education and training service draws on an experienced panel of session presenters, including former politicians, lawyers, occupational health and safety experts and other experts to ensure that all training sessions are relevant and up to date.
“We take the responsibility of Local Government very seriously and it is important that elected members and staff have the best information available to them to assist in decision making processes,” he said.
Training sessions are held at both metropolitan and regional venues and the current course list is complemented by online training modules for elected members, developed by the LGA Education and Training service.
For further information click on Education and Training
under the Policy and Projects tab of the LGASA website at
www.lga.sa.gov.au
