The LGA launched the Skills Hubs programme to help tackled workforce capacity challenges.
Background: Why the Skills Hubs programme was launched
Local government faces unprecedented workforce capacity challenges, with persistent vacancies, skills shortages, and retention issues in critical professions. In response the LGA, supported by government funding, launched the Skills Hubs programme. The aim is to bring councils together to collaboratively address these shortages, improve targeted workforce planning, and develop robust skills pathways and strategies for the future.
The Skills Hubs programme: Two phases of action
Phase 1 (April 2023 – March 2024)
Focused on five key occupational shortage areas:
Councils worked together to map skills gaps, share best practice, and develop initial workforce strategies and action plans for these professions.
Phase 2 (April 2024 – March 2025)
Built on Phase 1, adding two further shortage areas:
The programme’s second phase continues to refine and expand the strategies, ensuring they reflect current policies, sector developments, and future workforce needs.
The seven Workforce Shortage Strategies
Each strategy was co-developed with councils and partners from across the sector, and is designed to be:
- evidence-based and action-oriented
- collaborative and iterative
- aligned with national priorities (e.g. net zero, public service transformation)
- supported by practical tools for diagnostics, planning and evaluation.
Key outcomes from each Workforce Shortage Strategy
Building control
- Clarified qualification routes and supported regulatory compliance.
- Identified barriers to progression and retention, with targeted action plans to address them.
- Fostered collaboration with professional bodies and education providers to ensure a sustainable pipeline.
Civil engineering
- Produced evidence-based action plans to address persistent vacancies and skills gaps.
- Supported service redesign by anticipating future skills needs, including digital and net zero.
- Facilitated peer-to-peer learning and co-creation of solutions through workshops and webinars.
Digital & ICT
- Developed clear career pathways and improved recruitment / retention for digital roles.
- Embedded digital and net zero capabilities into traditional local government functions.
- Strengthened training provision and mapped digital skills to job roles for future service needs.
Economic development
- Strengthened local and regional skills for economic growth and regeneration.
- Built capacity for future challenges through targeted interventions and collaborative planning.
- Supported councils in aligning workforce strategies with broader economic priorities.
Environmental health
- Fostered collaboration with professional bodies and education providers to ensure a sustainable pipeline.
- Developed clear career pathways and improved recruitment / retention for environmental health roles.
- Developed action plans to support professional development and succession planning.
Legal
- Tackled recruitment and retention challenges in local government legal services.
- Developed action plans to support professional development and succession planning.
- Facilitated sector-wide sharing of best practice and peer learning.
Planning
- Enhanced recruitment and retention by mapping career pathways and supporting professional development.
- Anticipated future workforce needs and embedded digital skills into planning roles.
- Enabled councils to lead and shape their own workforce responses using evidence-based tools.
These outcomes reflect the sector’s collective effort to address persistent vacancies, skills shortages and retention challenges, ensuring a resilient and future-ready local government workforce.
Each strategy includes a detailed action plan, measurable outcomes, and is designed for local tailoring and adoption. They are supported by the National Workforce Planning Network, which provides peer learning, resource sharing, and ongoing sector engagement.
Call to action: For local government, by local government
The seven Workforce Shortage Strategies represent the collective effort and expertise of councils, and partners across the sector. They are sector-wide tools for transformation designed to be used, adapted, and built upon by local government, for local government.
We invite all councils to:
- embed these strategies into local workforce planning and HR practice
- share feedback and learning through the National Workforce Planning Network
- use these resources to inform leadership conversations, recruitment campaigns, and strategic workforce development.
Together, we can build a resilient, skilled, and future-ready local government workforce.
To join upcoming thematic sessions, please contact the LGA Workforce Team or join the National Workforce Planning Network.