Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme Placements Guidance

Impact is designed to equip talented high-potential graduates with the skills and experiences they need in order to fast track their careers in local government. Completing work placements in different areas among different teams is a key way Graduate Management Trainees develop this capability. This also helps them gain holistic knowledge and exposure to local government work, and make significant impacts to their host organisations.

There are six key competency areas (below) that Graduate Management Trainees are expected to develop during their time on the programme. Although it would not be expected that a single placement would allow sufficient opportunity to develop all competencies (especially to similar degrees), the work that they are given should allow for a range of skills, knowledge and experience to be built up around as many of them as possible.

The key competency areas that Graduate Management Trainees should be able to develop through workstreams or projects allocated are:

Managing in a political environment 

1. Leading others to successful outcomes
2. Managing the business
3. Communication and engagement skills
4. Promoting improvement and innovation
5. Developing yourself and career in local government.

Graduate Management Trainees should be given the opportunity to undertake a minimum of three placements over the two-year duration of the programme. Councils have flexibility to decide how to organise placements, for example they could offer three placements lasting eight months each, four six-month placements, or two placements lasting six months along with a year-long placement. 

Although placements can be for as long or as short as organisation needs necessitate (provided that the minimum requirement of three placements is met), we would strongly recommend that placements are no shorter than three months as a minimum, and no longer than a year as a maximum. 

Considering the level that they are expected to work at, placements that last at least six months usually allow enough time for good progress and achievement.

Discretion can be exercised around where to host Graduate Management Trainees for their different placements based on organisational needs and capacity requirements. However, their developmental needs should also be considered, and where possible - individual interest.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of areas that may be particularly suited to developing key skills and gaining relevant experiences:

Democratic Services

• Communications
• Policy
• Commissioning
• Delivery/Project management
• Procurement

It is helpful if councils are able to offer a range of different placement types, for example: 

• Strategic or corporate functions such as the Chief Executive’s Office
• Frontline services such as social care or housing
• Corporate services such as HR, legal and finance.

It is recognised that not all partner councils will be able to offer placements in as many departments/directorates due to the type of authority and the services that they deliver. The important thing is to ensure that Graduate Management Trainees are able to gain a sufficient breadth of experience during their time on the Programme.

Below are some (non-exhaustive) examples of previous placements, which have included projects in the following areas:

• Education / SEND
• Councillor inductions
• Public health
• Special Education Needs and Disabilities
• Housing programmes
• Refuse & recycling
• Community safety / Violence against women and girls
• Regeneration / Economic development
• Looked after children / Leaving care
• Leisure and culture
• Adult social care
• Highways / Parking
• Scrutiny Digital

Lou Richardson: Warwickshire County Council: We [place] Impact graduates within different service areas across all our directorates. This allows them to make an impact across key areas of work from our county-wide response to levelling up, to working on core strategies for education and SEND. While rotating, [they] have a home in our Corporate Policy team, giving them valuable experience in key local government issues. There is high demand across our services to secure a graduate which is testament to the high-quality work they produce.

Careful consideration should be given to not only the potential areas of work, but also the type and level of work that is planned for Graduate Management Trainees. These are bright and passionate individuals – able to quickly grasp complex areas of work. They are expected to work to a high-level competency, and should be provided with opportunities to contribute to and influence important pieces of work in areas of strategic priority. When agreeing placements, it is important to consider if the areas of work would allow for this. Placement Coordinators are encouraged to work with line managers to understand the work planned for Graduate Management Trainees within the placement (see pp. 8-9 Impact Roles).

It is important that Graduate Management Trainees are given the opportunity to work in placements of strategic or political importance. Not only does this help ensure good exposure of working at a high level, but it is also critical for the formal learning and development programme. The qualification that is undertaken is directly linked to the type of work participants should be completing. This includes an assignment on a critical review of their learning against their observations of effective effective leadership practice and a strategic project report presented internally.

With pertinent experiences to draw from and compare with theory, Graduate Management Trainees will likely find it easier to complete assignments (which are often practical in nature). This will reduce the likelihood of drift and help avoid the need for extensions. In turn, effectively engaging with the programme and completing assignments on schedule would allow for them to begin to immediately bring the learning back into the organisation.

Although all placements may entail an element of administrative tasks, areas of work should allow for work at a relatively high level. Having talented graduate trainees add value and work at pace is one of the best ways for partner councils to achieve a return on the investment they have made by joining the programme. For example, a placement that centres around processing penalty charge notices in an enforcement team is likely not to be suitable as part of the Programme; however, a placement in the same team that entails undertaking a service review with the aim of minimising back-logs would be better suited. We strongly encourage councils not to use Impact placements to fill ‘business as usual‘ gaps from vacancies or long-term absences. Where placements are being repeated across cohorts, a review of the placement should be carried out each year to ensure that the placement continues to provide a good level of opportunity.

Depending on how Impact is funded and coordinated at partner organisations, differing degrees of flexibility are offered to Graduate Management Trainees around placements. Most councils try to take into account individual preferences on areas of work for at least one placement. We would always encourage partner councils to consider the interests and developmental needs of Graduate Management Trainees whilst balancing the needs of the business.

Many partner councils find it helpful to have open conversations about work preferences as Graduate Management Trainees progress over the two-year period, and this is used to inform placement allocation. Where placements can be chosen, individual councils coordinate this differently. Some partner councils consider preferences from a handful of placements, others encourage approaching service areas that are of particular interest. Partner councils that are centrally coordinated through a corporate function such as HR or the Chief Executive’s Office are able to exercise a greater degree of flexibility and are often able to provide a great breadth of experience through placements.

Placement Coordinators may want to speak about the benefits and particular areas for development around their placements, especially when preferences have not been considered. Some partner councils adopt a collaborative approach to placement coordination, similar to what is seen on ‘Dragon’s Den’. With each placement rotation, managers and heads of service across the organisation are encouraged to bid for graduate placements. Placement Coordinators retain oversight though Graduate Management Trainees can largely self-organise this process themselves and arrange any follow-up meetings to discuss proposals in further detail.

See Appendix B – Placement Scoring Criteria (Waltham Forest)

Roles and responsibilities

Graduate Management Trainees should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities whilst completing all placements. Some partner councils also assign a suitable role title during the placement. This may help them understand their roles and responsibilities better, as well as the level they are expected to work at/towards. Additionally, it may also help with demonstrating relevant work experience for future opportunities within the sector.

Induction

As well as a corporate induction that all employees would have as part of onboarding, to help Graduate Management Trainees settle in and have a chance to ease into different service areas, some sort of induction should also be planned at the beginning of each rotation. Placement Coordinators should liaise with line managers to ensure this occurs. This can include meetings with key team members/leaders and also wider reading into service area/project, etc. Accessibility

Placement Coordinators should work with line managers of placements to ensure that their placements are accessible for Graduate Management Trainees. Accessibility should be considered at the point of designing placements, and reviewed when the placement coordinator is aware of disabilities and any reasonable adjustments they require (see Accessibility Guidance).

Progression

Ideally, Graduate Management Trainees should start off with smaller pieces of work and manage smaller aspects of projects before naturally progressing with more and more responsibility and challenge as they rotate through placements. Graduate Management Trainees can be expected to take on whole/multiple projects by the end of the Programme (or final placement), and many are actually able to do so at a much earlier stage.

Retention

Most Graduate Management Trainees who join Impact are keen to stay on at their host council if there are suitable opportunities for progression, and we encourage them to think about their career interests and next steps while on the programme. We would encourage Placement Coordinators to have conversations with managers across the organisation, including those who have hosted graduate placements, about potential opportunities. There may be occasions where departments/placement teams are able to offer a graduate a substantive opportunity in that area of work when they finish the programme. However, given the breadth of experience Graduate Management Trainees will get across their placements, as well as through their learning and development, the expectation is that they should be able to move into a more senior role in any service area, not necessarily only those where they have completed a placement.

Appendix A - Placement Proposal Template 

Appendix B - Placement Scoring Criteria (Waltham Forest)