Recruiting local government’s future leaders

The LGA’s graduate development programme for councils is celebrating its 20th anniversary

This year marks 20 years of the LGA’s National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) – the only graduate programme designed specifically for local government. 

Over the past two decades, the NGDP has helped hundreds of councils to recruit top-calibre local graduates to support the delivery of vital services for their communities and help in making a positive change locally. 

Each year, the NGDP has grown. This year alone, it has attracted applications from more than 4,000 graduates from every region of the country, giving councils access to a pool of candidates who are driven, passionate and committed to improving public services. 

The programme has also seen an increase in the number of councils signing up, with more than 70 councils committed to the NGDP so far this year. 

The NGDP continues to grow, continues to improve for councils and graduates, and continues to deliver for the sector, as demonstrated by the supportive comments from councils on these pages.

However, it is not only a programme to support councils; the NGDP is also there for developing and supporting graduates to achieve their dreams and ambitions. 

It is vital in helping talented alumni connect with each other. This has been recognised, with the NGDP consistently ranked in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list and, last year, shortlisted for the Institute of Student Employers’ ‘Best overall graduate scheme’. 

Through the NGDP, graduates have harnessed their skills and gone on to achieve real success in local government and beyond, as demonstrated by former participants Chris Sinnott and Cllr Bev Craig (see panels, left and right).

Looking to the future, the NGDP will continue to be ambitious for the local government sector. It wants to ensure it continues to attract and develop the best talent from across the country to support councils in delivering for their communities. 

The programme has offered an opportunity for graduates to fast-track their career within local government, and offered us an opportunity to re-engage, fill gaps in key parts of the organisation, and recruit talented graduates, including from the local area.

– Sheffield City Council 

I cannot endorse the programme strongly enough, and I look forward to continuing to see how its participants go on to create and lead a new and brighter local government future.

– Althea Loderick, Chief Executive, Newham Council 

The NGDP recruitment process is really helpful for councils…you can be confident that, at the final interview stage, you’re speaking with some really great individuals.

– Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council 

Skills to think big

On 1 December 2021, I took over as Leader of Manchester City Council at the age of 36, from Sir Richard Leese, who had been Leader of the council for more than 25 years.  

Twelve years earlier, when I started on the NGDP, I didn’t imagine that, little more than a decade later, I would become the politician in charge of one of the country’s largest local authorities and one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities. I was the first in my family to finish school, never mind go to university! 

After graduating from the University of Manchester with first-class honours in politics and modern history, I started my professional career on the NDGP, at Blackburn with Darwen Council. 

I was looking for a good-quality graduate scheme that balanced managerial work experience with academic learning, so I chose the NGDP over other schemes. 

Learning about the breadth of services, the importance of localism through varied work placements and studying at Warwick Business School opened my eyes to the difference that effective, place-orientated services can make to shaping an area and determining future outcomes for a place and its people.  

I met great colleagues who have gone on to do fantastic things. Ultimately, I chose to become more politically involved, and decided early on that the chief executive route was not for me. Schemes such as the NGDP are, however, vital for an energetic, ambitious and innovative managerial workforce that will lead us in the years to come.  

The insight, experience, and skills that the scheme gave me have aided my confidence to run a city of almost 600,000 people, and take Manchester’s ambitions to the next level.  

Tailored to help graduates and the sector thrive

It’s rare that any length of time passes without me drawing on my time on the NGDP to decide how best to approach my work. 

The programme gave me a really strong foundation in so much that I now draw on as a senior manager: skills in managing difficult conversations; working with politicians to deliver their priorities; or, rapidly analysing and understanding issues. 

I have just been offered the opportunity to become my councils’ chief executive from the beginning of next year.  

My time on the NGDP gave me the start to my career that means I’ve been able to achieve that exciting step. I would, and regularly do, recommend it for anyone thinking about a career in public services. 

The benefits of the NGDP are clear. The placements mean that graduates have a working knowledge across services, and relationships across organisations, breaking down silos and developing officers with a rounded knowledge of how public services work. 

Alongside that, the programme develops knowledge and the softer skills of graduates, while also creating a support network of other graduates and alumni across the country. That sharing of best practice, ideas and experience not only helps the graduates – it also helps us as a sector to improve and thrive. 

In an increasingly competitive market for attracting talented individuals, the NGDP provides the ideal package – a national scheme that is tailored to local needs, attracting graduates to local government across the country.