A View From The Public Sector

Why did you join the Public Sector?

I applied for the ngdp, as after working within Motor Retail for almost three years, although motivated I felt that working towards objectives solely based on cutting costs and making shareholders wealthy would not satisfy me long-term.  After discovering what the ngdp offers graduates, and the unrivalled exposure of different functional areas available in local government, I realised the graduate opportunities in the Public Sector matched and in some cases bettered those offered by many FTSE 100 companies.  The ngdp scheme demonstrates how local government is actively seeking graduate talent and future leadership potential, something that in the past may have been overlooked within the Public Sector.  The misconceptions that the Public Sector is no place for graduates looking for a challenging and well rewarding career are finally being put to rest.  Through joining the ngdp, I am optimistic I will gain significant business exposure and encounter many challenges, as well as securing the all-important job satisfaction.  Fulfilling a role that can improve the quality of people's lives will be a refreshing and much welcomed change. 

What do you consider to be the most significant challenges in your organisation?

As I haven't started within my role yet, I am yet to experience the day-to-day issues and challenges faced by local government and specifically my local authority, South Tyneside.  However, commenting from an external perspective, I am baffled by the complexity of local government, both geographically and functionally.  Local authorities are uniquely multi-faceted.  The services provided by local authorities vary greatly, ranging from regeneration to education, to housing and safety; one can appreciate how challenging it is to allocate funding and priority.  With each service area perusing greater funding and placing importance on their individual outputs, strategic planning must be extremely difficult.  As with any industry, consumer expectations are increasing, arguably more so in the Public Sector, therefore scrutiny, both internally and externally facing local government is overwhelming.  Ensuring efficiency and value for money in an environment where employees are not driven by salary based KPIs, is a constant hurdle for leaders in the Public Sector. 

In an area facing high unemployment rates and deprivation, South Tyneside's main challenges are maintaining focus of central services, as well strategically tackling issues such as enterprise development and regeneration.  South Tyneside's Sustainable Community Strategy, Regeneration Strategy and Local Area Agreement, ‘Spirit of South Tyneside' brings together the key priorities to ensure the local authority is tactically focused to face its biggest challenges.  

What words would you chose to describe the Public Sector?

Through my narrow insight of the Public Sector, specifically focusing on local government and South Tyneside Council, the words that leap out to me are; hungry for change, rewarding career opportunities, forward thinking employees, strong teams, crucial decision making and a heavily scrutinised environment.

What are the benefits of a Public Sector Career?

In my view the benefits of a Public Sector career are far reaching.  With schemes such as the ngdp, graduates can embark on a demanding and rewarding career path, whilst maintaining an unparalleled work-life balance.  Unlike many Private Sector graduate schemes, where it seems a ‘sink or swim' attitude is adopted, likely to ‘burn-out' most of its graduates by the age of 30, the ngdp places significance on the individual development of each of its graduates.  I have been impressed to the highest degree by the supportive and welcoming nature of all South Tyneside team members connected with the programme so far.  After working in a Private Sector environment, where most worked towards individual as opposed to common goals, the passion of the team towards the area of South Tyneside and the need to do a good job is inspirational.  The level of job satisfaction clearly displayed when visiting the council is unquestionably something I want to be part of. 

What advice do you have for anyone considering a career within the sector?

There are such a broad range of opportunities available in the sector, especially from what I have witnessed through the ngdp, there are roles and projects to interest individuals from an array of academic backgrounds.  Not many organisations can boast as many service areas and projects taken up by local authorities.  It is certain that as a graduate on the ngdp, you will be stretched and challenged throughout the programme, as well as receiving professional and supportive guidance.  The recruitment process is lengthy and at times testing, but this simply proves to me that local government are serious about recruiting talented graduates and if you are lucky enough to secure a place on the scheme, you are given important and taxing projects from the start.  The opportunities to develop, both personally and professionally, are readily given for those graduates willing to put in effort and enthusiasm.  The rewards, both financial and other, are well worth it.