Posted on: 14/03/2025

Thought Leadership

In a rapidly evolving job market, connecting young people with career opportunities isn’t just good for students – it’s essential for organisations looking to build their talent pipeline. The problem isn’t a lack of roles; it’s a lack of awareness.

Most students have little understanding of the breadth of careers available in councils, meaning a wealth of potential talent is being overlooked. If local government wants to secure its future workforce, it needs to take action now.

Too often, outreach is seen as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a strategic necessity. If councils want to close skills gaps and build a future-ready workforce, they must embed careers engagement into their long-term workforce strategy.

Why Education Outreach Matters

Effective careers outreach provides significant benefits across three key areas:

For young people, meaningful engagement with employers unlocks doors to possibilities they might never have considered. Through quality interactions, students gain a clearer understanding of various career paths available to them in local government. These encounters raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes about public sector careers, and help develop the essential workplace skills employers seek. Most importantly, research shows that creating meaningful connections with employers significantly reduces the likelihood of young people becoming disengaged from education and employment altogether.

From an employer perspective, investing in education outreach brings substantial returns. Councils that engage proactively with schools and colleges develop more diverse talent pipelines, addressing future workforce needs. This engagement offers valuable professional development opportunities for existing staff who participate in outreach activities. By forming connections with potential future employees early, organisations can build brand awareness and demonstrate their commitment to social value within their communities.

The ripple effects extend to communities themselves. Effective education-employer partnerships help address local skills gaps by ensuring young people develop the capabilities needed in the region. These connections create pathways for young people to build careers locally rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere. Ultimately, this approach supports economic growth and enhances social mobility across the community.

The Challenge for Local Government

Despite these clear benefits, many councils face challenges in delivering effective careers outreach, which is a common discussion point in our WME led resourcing networks. It’s often seen as something valuable but not always a priority. However, with an ageing workforce and growing skills gaps, proactive engagement with young people has never been more important. Without it, many simply won’t consider local government as a career choice. By shifting the focus and embedding outreach into workforce planning, councils can build a stronger talent pipeline for the future.

Recognising this, we were inspired to scope a project to support our shareholder councils to address this, funded by the Workforce Priorities fund. To get a better understanding of our starting point, we surveyed councils and schools in the region which highlighted:

• Although there are pockets of great practice, most councils have limited engagement with schools and colleges
• Teachers had a limited understanding of careers in the sector
• There was an absence of specific materials to support careers education about local government
• Students had a very narrow view of careers in councils which focussed on the most visible roles such as refuse collection

This information gap creates a significant disconnect between councils with workforce needs and students who might be interested in local government careers – if only they knew more about them.

Introducing Our New Local Government Careers Resource Pack

To address these challenges, we’ve developed a comprehensive suite of materials designed to support both councils and schools in raising awareness of local government careers.

These resources are specifically aligned with Gatsby Benchmarks 2, 4 and 5, making them perfect for integration into existing careers programmes.

These flexible resources can be used directly by schools or delivered by council representatives, accommodating different teaching styles and student needs. They can form complete lessons with extension activities or be incorporated into focused sessions like “Careers in Social Care”.

Your can find out more and request your resource pack here

Getting Started with your Education Outreach

The Careers & Enterprise Company recommends a structured approach to education outreach:

1. Be clear on your goals: Identify what motivates your organisation to work with schools and colleges. Are you looking to develop your talent pipeline? Break down stereotypes? Support young people? Or give staff development opportunities?
2. Decide where to start: Different approaches work for different age groups. Primary education (5-11) focuses on inspiration, secondary education (11-16) on developing interests and experiences, and post-16 education on specific pathways and applications.
3. Know what you offer: Consider the unique contributions your council can bring, such as knowledge about local skills needs, essential workplace skills, or information about technical qualifications.
4. Understand education basics: Schools operate on specific calendars with busy periods. Approach them at least half a term before planned activities and be aware that April-June (exam season) and September (new academic year) are challenging times.
5. Plan appropriate activities: Consider workplace visits, careers talks, skills workshops, application support sessions or mock interviews. Make sure activities are inclusive and accessible for all students.
6. Evaluate and improve: Seek feedback from teachers, students and your own staff to continuously enhance your outreach programme.

Taking the Next Step

By accessing our new resource pack, your council can:

• Start or enhance your education outreach with confidence
• Provide consistent, high-quality information about local government careers
• Save time by using ready-made, tested materials
• Connect with the next generation of potential employees
• Contribute to addressing skills gaps in your area

To register to receive the materials as part of your WME Shareholder Membership click here. Schools and colleges in your area can also access these resources directly, creating a cohesive approach to promoting local government careers.

A Lasting Impact

With 893,000 18-year-olds expected by 2030 (a 25% increase from 2020), the opportunity to engage with the workforce of the future has never been greater. Councils that take action now will be the ones securing the next generation of talent, addressing skills gaps, and future-proofing their workforce. Those that wait risk being left behind.

To request ‘Exploring Careers in Local Councils: An Essential Guide’ please visit: https://wmemployers.org.uk/exploring-careers-in-local-councils-an-essential-guide-inspiring-the-next-generation-of-local-government-professionals/

By Chloe Hermann – Principal Consultant West Midlands Employers

We are always keen on your views, please email our team at info@wmemployers.org.uk with any suggestions or feedback.