Posted By Stuart Nagle
It used to be normal practice within Local Authorities to advertise posts internally for two weeks before going 'outside'. This was when there was a wealth of experience in-house of course and probably academic standards were lower than now (I'm getting on now at 47!!!!), and they keep moving the goalposts... don't they !!
Following this most posts were advertised in 'Opportunities' (don't know if it still exists), and in the local press.
I think you will find that internal appointments, ad-hoc, are now a thing of the past and the criteria for appointment (quals and experience, knowledge ect) is applied rather than who you know or what you think you know, and regardless that you think you could do the job.
Unfortunately this is to some degree retrogressive, in that many applicants for jobs in Local Government are purely academic with little real experience.
I came up via the old route, one of last I think to do this, off the tools and into a district office, college as well via day release and night school, and finally onto the top floor, where it seemed all engineers offices always were (once described to me by a much older colleague as 'closer to god').
In later years, before I left LA, I noticed with growing concern the fact that most in the office came from school, straight through college or university, and ended up on the top floor with all the qualifications and no experience or knowledge of the job in real terms.
The shame of it is that all the time I read of those who are crying out for job experience - to mix with acedemic study - who are being ignored or passed over for those with the acedemic qualifications and real experience. This appears to me to be a waste of resources and in many respects takes longer to produce a fee earning member of the team!!!
It is interesting to note recently, with all the talk of fee top-ups on university courses, that the silent majority have been employers. lets face it, it is the employer who in the end reaps the real rewards of highly educated people, and I for one think that the majority of courses ofered at University ought to be through employers, for example, local government, to get the younger ones into a job, getting experience balanced with academic study and thus producing the best well rounded staff.... this surely would be beneficial to all....
there thats the moan over with....