Lusi at South Tyneside Council

"I love being part of a programme which values me, develops me and where I get a real opportunity to make a difference to the people in my community."


Working at South Tyneside Council.

Studied Government and European Union Studies at Newcastle University.

Advice? Thoroughly research the key challenges in local government and come up with innovative ways to address these. Think about why you want to go into local government and make sure you articulate this at every stage of the process.

How have you changed? Thanks to NGDP, I am already a more resilient, well-rounded professional, with a broad knowledge of various service areas and expertise in leadership and management. I know that when I come out at the end of the programme, I will have a complete set of skills required to be a leader in any sector.

Favourite projects? South Tyneside Council is an exciting place to work. It's innovative, forward thinking and very ambitious, despite being one of the hardest hit councils in the country. I started out in Strategy and the Chief Executive's office, which was a fantastic insight into the politics and inner workings of the Council. Very early on, I was given the responsibility for re-writing the Council's five year Corporate Strategy, which allowed me to build closer relations with Heads of Service and managers from across the organisation. I also got a once in a life time opportunity to work on the development of one of our flagship projects, the Word, the newly opened National Centre for the Written Word, which has been a great experience.

What about your development? I have a fantastic workforce development officer, who has really gone above and beyond her duties to support my development. The NGDP provides training in the wider context of leadership and change management. It is also an amazing opportunity connect with nearly a hundred other graduates who have had similar experiences and who are excited to share their stories.