Public Sector

Local Government

Local Authorities have a number of responsibilities and provide a variety of services. Some of these are required by statute and others will be policies decided upon on behalf of residents in that area by the council.

Within Local Authorities there are loads of opportunities for graduates across a number of departments. These could include: education, community services, commercial services, marketing and communications, environmental services, leisure and cultural services. Some local authorities may have variations of these departments or additional ones as well.

There are also opportunities for graduates with specialist professional qualifications or experience such as social workers, teachers, planners, librarians, housing managers, environmental health officers and accountants.

Many are also involved in the National Graduate Development Programme which aims to recruit the senior managers and chief executives of the future into Local Government. Typical work as a trainee may include involvement with community projects, in-house strategy, policy writing and evaluation of services. Competition for the program can be high and if your looking to apply for the scheme you may need to be willing to apply for work in a number of areas and be willing to re-locate.

Useful links:

National Graduate Development Programme

Direct Gov

Yorkshire and Humber Assembly

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Hull City Council

North Yorkshire County Council

Craven District Council

Hambleton District Council

Harrogate Borough Council

Richmondshire District Council

Ryedale District Council

Selby District Council

City of York Council

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Sheffield City Council

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

Kirklees Metropolitan Council

Leeds City Council

City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council