How to solve the workforce crisis in UK local government

1 - What does the job market look like in the public sector?
2 - What do workers want?
3 - Make your application process easy and appealing
4 - Reach your candidates where they are

The workforce crisis in UK local government is a critical issue that has been affecting the functioning of local councils across the country. In recent years, there has been a shortage of skilled workers – a problem that really goes back to funding and pay.

What does the job market look like in the public sector?

According to UNISON, 16% of local government employees earn less than £10 an hour. The government announced a 2% increase, but didn’t deliver more funding to councils, so services were squeezed and more pressure was put on staff as a result.

This has informed a sincere workforce crisis across councils. Jobtrain’s client – The Local Government Association (LGA) – undertook a survey in January of 2023 examining this further, and the results are concerning.

• More than 8 in 10 councils are having difficulties recruiting children’s social workers and almost three quarters (72%) are having problems retaining them – councils are increasingly having to turn to agency staff to plug gaps which is more costly and leave less for children's services overall.
• When it comes to adult social care, 57% of councils are struggling to retain and 71% struggling to recruit adult social care workers – national adult social care organisations, including the LGA, have called for government to deliver a long-term care workforce strategy and tackle the issue of care worker pay.
• 58% are struggling to recruit planning officers – this will impact on the ability of councils to plan and deliver new homes and ensure new housing meets local needs and has the right infrastructure.
• 22% are experiencing recruitment difficulties for HGV drivers – fast inflating HGV driver salaries in the private sector are an issue for councils and their contractors, putting pressure on gritting and waste and collection services.

This crisis isn’t specific to one or two roles, it’s across the board! While more funding would surely be a powerful solution, here are some cost-free ideas that might be able to help in the meantime.

What do workers want?

Jobtrain’s Talent Intelligence Unit reports that almost 43% of workers are considering quitting their job, so consider the language you’re using in job adverts. Why are they likely to be quitting? Benefits? Are they looking for remote or flexible working? Make sure you communicate an understanding of these common painpoints and whether or not you can offer something better!

84% of candidates won’t apply for a job that doesn’t advertise salary. Regardless of how well-paid someone will be in their new role, you will definitely lose candidates if you try to hide the pay-scale! Be transparent, open and honest.

75% of candidates prioritise a work/life balance over pay. That doesn’t mean that pay is important – especially right now – but there are lots of local government jobs that offer a sense of safety to workers. Consider how strong your pension offering is. Consider the security that local government work can offer over the private sector.

Over 90% of candidates believe a clear equality, diversity and inclusion policy is important. Racial and gender diversity is important, but don’t forget about accessibility too. If you’re a Disability Confident organisation, add that badge to your careers site. We have partnered with Recite to offer an accessibility toolbar to our clients, so disabled applicants can easily be supported!

Make your application process easy and appealing

The average application form should take no longer than 5 minutes for a candidate to complete, or else they’ll lose interest and go somewhere else! Only ask the questions you need to ask, there will be opportunities to learn more at other stages! We recommend having a member of your team walk through the end-to-end application and time themselves.

Use images and videos in your job adverts. According to our talent intelligence unit, this will increase your application rate by up to 34%, and the rejection rate drops from 88% to just 33%! Most applicant tracking systems should come with a careers site that lets you customize it to match your brand, and include more engaging pieces of content that capture the heart of why a job in local government is exciting! This will let candidates self-certify if they’re the right fit for the role, which will reduce drop-off and increase long-term retention!

Reach your candidates where they are

The likes of LGJobs and LocalGov.co.uk are seen as a typical hub for posting jobs, but over 80% of jobseekers use Indeed when researching a change of role! There are thousands of job boards in the UK, each pertaining to a different demographic. There are LGTBQ+ job boards, disability-focussed job boards, job boards for different specialisms, so try to reach your candidates where they are, rather than where you want them to be.

Both of Jobtrain’s applicant tracking systems (the Jobtrain ATS and JTGO) offer a Job Board Marketplace that’s built-into the system for all of our clients, that lets you advertise to over 5000 recruitment channels. There are no hidden fees, the job board marketplace comes as part of the core package of both systems.