Local Government Cyber, Digital, Data and Technology (CDDaT) Workforce Strategy and Action Plan

Councils are struggling with persistent vacancies, skills shortages and increasing retention challenges. Without strategic intervention these workforce challenges will significantly impact on the delivery of CDDaT services and pose a risk to the successful transformation of wider local government services.

The sector must invest in skills development, workforce data capabilities and modern technologies by strengthening recruitment and retention strategies as well as learning and development pathways.

Purpose, Scope, Ownership, methodology

Purpose

This strategic workforce plan has been developed to open constructive conversations with key stakeholders about the workforce challenges facing CDDaT teams across the sector. By fostering collaboration between the LGA, councils, central government, professional bodies and education providers the plan aims to build a shared understanding of both current pressures and future workforce needs.

It also provides a practical framework to support local government employers in attracting, retaining and developing talent. We are seeking a partnership approach to deliver it.

For current employees and those considering a career in local government, it gives an insight into our priorities and demonstrates our commitment to addressing strategic workforce issues.

Scope 

This workforce strategy focuses on cyber, digital, data and technology professionals within the local government sector, addressing strategic workforce challenges and opportunities to ensure a sustainable, skilled and adaptable workforce. It covers current workforce demographics, supply and demand factors, the impact of policy and other changes on future skills needs, as well as identifying gaps in the information and data available. 

Ownership

This strategy and action plan is a collaborative effort led by the LGA in partnership with councils and key stakeholders. The strategy and action plan provide a national perspective (England) and is also offered as an adaptable resource for councils to tailor to their strategic workforce planning needs.

The National Local Government Workforce Planning Network serves as the primary platform for consultation, knowledge-sharing and ongoing engagement on workforce planning matters, ensuring continued collaboration and responsiveness to emerging challenges and opportunities.

Methodology

This plan was developed through a collaborative process, shaped with and for the sector, to ensure it reflects the real-world challenges faced by local government. 

Sources of primary data included the LGA workforce survey, as well as specific workforce capacity reports where available for the identified critical shortage areas. This data provided insights into the strengths, gaps and emerging trends within the workforce, laying the foundation for a targeted approach.

Secondary information and data arising out of a series of CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub sessions were analysed, and sector expertise was engaged in a series of consultation and feedback workshops on the draft strategies.

Strategic context and vision for the CDDaT professionals workforce

Local government in the UK is a distinctly decentralised system, operating in the four nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each with varying structures, responsibilities and governance frameworks. Councils function as direct employers, managing their own workforces and policies, which enhances local accountability and tailored service provision. However, this approach poses challenges for the coordination of national and regional support for the sector. 

CDDaT services operate in a rapidly evolving strategic context shaped by increasing demand for digital transformation to improve efficiency and meet rising expectations and pace of technological advancement and increasing cyber threats. There is a strong push for collaboration across all sectors (public, private, and voluntary) to unlock the potential of data to drive inclusive economic growth. This is against a backdrop of legacy systems, fragmented data and a national shortage of digital skills. 

Our vision is to make local government a destination of choice for CDDaT professionals by offering a rewarding and purpose-driven career path. We will strengthen our ability to attract and retain talent by promoting the unique opportunities to make a difference in communities, while also investing in the development of our existing workforce. This includes targeted recruitment to address priority skills gaps, expanding access to upskilling programmes such as TechTrack, and working collaboratively across the wider public sector—such as with the NHS—to build a strong and sustainable pipeline of digital expertise. 

Vision for CDDaT professionals in Local Government

Through the CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub Programme, participating councils collaborated to develop a shared workforce vision that inspires professionals, supports recruitment and retention, and drives positive change within CDDaT services in local government. 

Workforce vision: 

To cultivate a customer-focused, innovative, and professional CDDaT workforce within local government, driving efficiency and earning the community's trust. 

Core principles: 

• Customer-focused: Prioritising residents' needs and experiences and ensuring that all CDDaT services are designed to enhance user satisfaction and engagement.
• Innovative: Embracing cutting-edge technologies and creative solutions to improve and modernise services continuously.
• Professionalism: Demonstrating exceptional competence, reliability, and respect in all interactions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.
• Efficiency: Streamlining processes and leveraging technology to deliver the most effective and resourceful services.
• Trusted: Building and maintaining trust through secure, reliable, and transparent CDDaT practices.  

Desired outcomes: 

• Large Pool of Talented People: Attracting and retaining a diverse and skilled workforce capable of delivering the right outcomes for the council.
• Ethical Use of AI: Utilising artificial intelligence to respect our values and enhance service delivery to residents.
• Better Services for Residents: Delivering high-quality, efficient, and user-friendly services that meet the community's needs.
• Secure Environment: Ensuring a secure digital environment where threats are automatically detected and mitigated, protecting data and services.

By embedding these principles and striving for these outcomes, we aim to create a CDDaT workforce within local government that meets and exceeds the expectations of the communities we serve. 

Composition of the local government CDDaT workforce 

• The workforce capacity survey (October 2023) estimated that 24,750 staff (headcount) were employed in CDDaT related roles.
• At the time of the survey, the average council employed 57 (full time equivalent) CDDaT staff, a figure considerably higher in single tier and county councils (97) than district (24).

Age

Data provided by CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub participants:

• 41 per cent of CDDaT staff were over 50 indicating a wave of retirements and potential loss of expertise over the next 10-15 years.
• 15 per cent were under 30 highlighting a potential shortage of early-career professionals.
• The largest concentration of professionals was in the 50-59 age group suggesting valuable experience and knowledge may be at risk as this group approaches retirement or seek progression. Without structured career pathways they may seek employment elsewhere and cannot be easily replaced. 

Diversity

• Broader data on diversity in the technology sector reported:
  • 29 per cent of IT professionals are female (or non-binary)
  • 25 per cent are from ethnic minority groups
  • 6 per cent have a disability
  • 9 per cent are from lower socio-economic backgrounds
• Specific statistics on diversity within the local government CDDaT workforce are not readily available. However, a techUK survey revealed significant challenges, particularly in gender diversity, with 30 per cent of respondents finding it difficult to attract female talent.
• Whilst 88 per cent of respondents to the techUK survey were engaged with processes to deliver a more diverse workforce at entry and management levels, the data suggests there is a need for ongoing targeted efforts to improve diversity and inclusion at every career stage. 

Workforce mobility - vacancies, agency use, turnover, recruitment and retention

Vacancies

• As of 1 October 2023, approximately 18 per cent of IT posts were unfilled, amounting to 2,000 vacancies across England, with councils averaging seven vacancies each.
• The most difficult positions to recruit were technical, operational and architectural officer roles, with one-third of councils citing these as their hardest-to-fill vacancies over the past three years.

Agency use

• In 2022/23, councils' agency spending to address capacity and capability gaps was estimated at approximately £55 million, with a significant increase (£70 million)) projected for 2023/24. On average, two agency staff were employed by CDDaT teams per council.
• The main reasons for use of agency/contractors were when specialist knowledge was not available in-house (59 per cent) and to undertake or support delivery of a project (54 per cent).
• Recent data, compiled by the CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub, found that amongst participants, agency spend per council (previous 12 months) ranged from £140,000 to over £1 million.
• The most common roles requiring agency staff were applications development contractors, specialist analysts, and technical architects. 

Turnover

• During the same period, CDDaT teams experienced an annual staff turnover rate of 9.8 per cent.

Recruitment

• Two thirds of councils reported significant difficulty in recruiting to the posts of technical, operational and architectural officers.
• The next most challenging specialist area for permanent recruitment was applications and systems officers (52 per cent) followed by cyber officers (42 per cent).
• For every post, single tier and county councils were more likely than districts to report it was very, or difficult to recruit.
• Over four-fifths (83 per cent) said that the reason for unfilled vacancies was due to recruitment efforts failing to generate enough suitable candidates with the right skills and experience.
• Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of respondents did not collaborate with other councils’ IT teams to help address recruitment challenges.
• Local government has the lowest proportion of digital and data professionals in the workforce. There is a consistent lack of digital skills in the whole sector, and the sector lacks training, and leadership needed to sufficiently deliver tech enabled programmes. Dissatisfaction with pay, career progression and long tenure make the public sector not an attractive place to work for digital or data specialists. 

Retention

• Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents reported significant challenges in retaining technical / operational / architectural officers and a third (35 per cent) found it difficult to retain applications and systems officers.
• Nearly three quarters (70 per cent) of respondents said one of the main reasons for employees leaving the service was for pay, followed by career opportunities (51 per cent) and retirement (42 per cent).
• The proportion of councils reporting staff leaving for temporary work was relatively low (10 per cent) and was consistent across district and single tier councils. The reasons given for pursuing temporary work included higher pay from agency roles (81 per cent), greater flexibility (58 per cent) and lower workload (41 per cent).

Workforce planning

• Two thirds (63 per cent) of councils participating in the LGA capacity survey had not conducted projections for future staffing needs to address anticipated service demands. Among those who had undertaken such projections, the estimated requirement was an increase of approximately 4.1 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff per council over the next one to two years, decreasing to 3.3 FTE within five years.
• At the time of the survey, three quarters (75 per cent) of respondents did not have a workforce plan, and a similar number (71 per cent) lacked a succession planning programme to support future workforce development for the CDDaT workforce.
• Just over half (54 per cent) of respondents said that they did have a training and development plan with an agreed budget.

Apprenticeships and graduate programmes

• An estimated 460 apprentices were employed by local authority IT teams across England, of which approximately 110 (around 24 per cent) were employed in graduate apprenticeships. An additional estimated 60 staff were employed as a part of graduate schemes outside of apprenticeships.
• These figures equated to around one apprenticeship and less than one graduate per council on average. These figures were higher for single-tier and county councils, at an average of two apprenticeships and just under one graduate per council.
• The techUK survey respondents indicated that apprenticeships played a crucial role in their diversity strategies, providing opportunities for individuals from varied backgrounds, through the targeted recruitment and training of local people with the right potential to strengthen in-house cyber, digital, data and technology (CDDaT) capabilities. 

Composition of the external market and talent pool

• The UK Government's Economic Estimates for Employment in the Digital Sector (April 2023 - March 2024), put employment in the digital sector at approximately 1.8 million. Most CDDaT professionals are employed in the private sector, particularly in technology firms, financial services and telecommunications.
• A 2025 McKinsey report suggests that demand for ‘tech talent’ is likely to be two to four times greater than supply over the coming years, with a talent gap in the European Union of 1.4 million by 2027. Strong demand drives up the cost of acquiring talent and increases the challenge of finding the right skills.

Supply of CDDaT professionals 

• The UK offers a diverse range of qualification routes for individuals pursuing careers in CDDaT, catering to various learning styles and professional aspirations.
• Traditional degree programmes at universities provide a key and popular pathway to qualification. The UK apprenticeship framework for CDDaT provides structured pathways that range from entry level to advanced qualifications.

Apprenticeships

• LGA research found that apprenticeship starts in local government have stayed at the same level for three years running. Nearly half of councils that did not currently have apprentices, had never employed them.
• Further LGA research, Apprenticeship Capacity Survey, Jan 2024, reported on common barriers to appointing apprentices. They included the lack of time to mentor apprentices or to release/provide time away from work. Some higher-level apprenticeship programmes were cited as particularly difficult to undertake due to workloads. Existing, experienced staff did not wish to undertake an apprenticeship to either re-skill or up-skill.
• It was found that structural issues hinder apprenticeship adoption and that these include a mismatch between available apprenticeship programmes and job roles, a lack of suitable qualifications for certain technical occupations and inconsistent quality of provision.
• The CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub highlighted Cybersecurity Level 4 and IT Solutions Level 3 as the most common apprenticeship pathways.
• At the time of the Skills Partnership Hub sessions, the need for an CDDaT Digital Business Analyst apprenticeship route and an CDDaT Product Manager pathway, were identified. Two relatively new routes have since been developed: Service designer (level 6) - apprenticeship training course, and Digital product manager (level 4) - apprenticeship training course, which help to address the gap.

• The evolving role of CDDaT professionals in UK local councils is crucial for driving digital transformation, enhancing public services, and ensuring efficient and transparent operations. As we approach 2028 and beyond, the skills, knowledge, digital leadership and qualifications required for these professionals will continue to evolve in response to technological advancements and changing local government sector needs.
• Furthermore, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report explores how major global trends are reshaping jobs and skills and outlines the workforce transformation strategies employers need to pursue between 2025 and 2030.

General future workforce trends

• Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, and fuelling demand for technology related skills, including AI and big data, networks and cyber resilience, and technological literacy, which are anticipated to be the top three fastest growing skills.
• Economic conditions, including slow growth and the increase in the cost of living, is ranked as the second trend, which is expected to increase the demand for creative thinking and resilience, flexibility, and agility skills.
• The third trend is climate change mitigation driving roles such as renewable energy and environmental engineers, as well as an increased focus on environmental stewardship.

Jobs and skills implications

• The survey predicts that frontline job roles, such in the care economy and education, will see the largest growth, whilst technology roles are the fastest growing.
• Regarding skills, workers can expect that two-fifths (30 per cent) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.
• Skills gaps are widely regarded as the greatest barrier to business transformation, and the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling required in response is expected to be substantial.
• The UK government published a service manual which encourages teams to create and run great public services that meet the Service Standard. One of the recommendations of the Service Standard is for public bodies to have multi-disciplinary teams, with a diverse mix of skills and expertise in place that can create and operate services in a sustainable way. Multi-disciplinary working would help to build skills and capability outside of the central function which could support future growth into CDDaT roles.
• The Blueprint for Modern Digital Government (January 2025) sets out a long-term vision and a six-point plan for transforming digital public services across the UK. While it is a UK-wide strategy, it has direct and significant implications for local government, particularly in how services are delivered, data is managed, and digital capabilities are developed. These in turn have an impact on the UK local government CDDaT workforce skills and jobs.

Workforce challenges and mitigation

• With just over half of employers (52 per cent) anticipating allocating a greater share of their revenue to wages, pay competitiveness will remain a significant challenge for local government employers. The identification and implementation of effective recruitment and retention initiatives and incentives continue to represent critical strategic priorities for the sector.
• The majority (85 per cent) of employers plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce, with 70 per cent of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills and 50 per cent planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles. Strategies to expand talent availability by tapping into diverse talent pools and the adoption of diversity, inclusion and equality initiatives are set to continue to rise.
• Supporting employee health and well-being is expected to be a key focus for talent attraction alongside effective reskilling and upskilling initiatives, improving talent progression, and creating promotion opportunities.

Future skills needs for the CDDaT workforce

• Digital leadership and change management has been highlighted as critical skills gaps in the recent government report A blueprint for modern digital government (HTML) - GOV.UK and proposes the development of digital leaders to sit on executive boards.
• As AI-driven technologies are adopted to improve service delivery, workforce planning must address significant shifts in skills demand. For the wider council workforce, there is a growing need for digital literacy and the upskilling of the wider workforce to transform services. This will in turn support the digital transformation work that CDDaT professionals need to deliver in their local authorities.
• An analysis of specific future skills needs was developed through work undertaken by the LGA with the CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub.
• In summary, the future skills landscape for council CDDaT professionals will be shaped by advancements in AI, data science, cyber resilience, cloud & DevOps engineering, IoT (Internet of Things), data analytics and digital inclusion. Roles such as AI and machine learning specialists are required to design, implement and optimise AI systems. Digital transformation leadership skills are needed to manage change and align strategies, policies and plans, ensuring compliance with data regulations and ethical use of AI.
• As cyber threats evolve, roles such as cyber resilience analysts and information security managers will be increasingly vital. Professionals will need expertise in threat detection, risk management, and security protocols, with future roles focusing on proactive threat hunting, incident response and cyber resilience strategy development.
• Cloud computing and IoT technologies will play a critical role in shaping digital infrastructure. Cloud architects, engineers, and DevOps specialists must be proficient in cloud platforms, containerisation technologies and infrastructure automation. Meanwhile, IoT developers, architects, and security specialists will require skills in sensor technology, network protocols, and data analytics, supporting smart infrastructure and service automation. Future roles in these fields will emphasise multi-cloud management, cloud security, IoT ecosystems, and edge computing.
• Data analysts, engineers and business intelligence specialists will play a key role in driving data-informed decision-making through advanced analytics, data processing and visualisation techniques. As digital services become central to public engagement, roles such as digital inclusion officers and accessibility specialists will gain prominence, ensuring equitable access to services through expertise in accessibility standards, user experience design and community outreach
• The CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub participants further identified anticipated occupational skills gaps in addition to technical competencies, which included soft skills, management and leadership, governance and finance.

• This section outlines the key gaps between the current local government CDDaT workforce and the vision for its future. In collaboration with the CDDaT Skills Partnership Hub participants, the LGA conducted a detailed analysis of workforce challenges. To support this PESTLE and SWOT exercises were used to identify and categorise these challenges. The findings are organised and examined below under the themes of data, service delivery, recruitment, retention and skills, highlighting the gaps between the existing workforce, future skills needs and the workforce vision.

Data

• Data-driven workforce planning is challenging due to limitations in data availability and quality, which hinder a comprehensive understanding of the capacity and capability of the CDDaT workforce and impacts on the effectiveness of strategic decision-making, particularly in relation to diversity.

Service Delivery 

• As service transformation reshapes delivery models, it will necessitate the redesign of roles, and the evolution of skill sets to align with new ways of working. 

Recruitment and Retention 

Skills Development

The evolving role of CDDaT professionals in UK local councils is crucial for driving digital transformation, enhancing public services, and ensuring efficient and transparent operations. As we approach 2028 and beyond, the skills, knowledge, and qualifications required for these professionals will continue to evolve in response to technological advancements and changing local government sector needs.

Foundation (2028–2029)

Skills: Basic understanding of digital transformation principles, introduction to digital tools, and foundational knowledge of cybersecurity.
Training: Digital transformation basics, introductory courses on digital tools and platforms, and cybersecurity fundamentals.
Qualifications: Entry-level certifications in digital transformation and cybersecurity.

Development (2029–2030)

Skills: Intermediate knowledge of digital tools, data management, and cybersecurity practices.
Training: Advanced courses on digital tools and platforms, data management techniques, and intermediate cybersecurity training.
Qualifications: Intermediate certifications in digital tools, data management, and cybersecurity.

Specialisation (2030)

Skills: Advanced expertise in digital transformation, data analytics, and cybersecurity.
Training: Specialized courses on digital transformation strategies, data analytics, and advanced cybersecurity practices.
Qualifications: Advanced certifications in digital transformation, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

Future-Ready (Post-2030)

Skills: Leadership in digital transformation, proficiency in AI and machine learning, and strategic cybersecurity management.
Training: Leadership training in digital transformation, courses on AI and machine learning applications, and strategic cybersecurity management.
Qualifications: Leadership certifications in digital transformation, AI and machine learning, and strategic cybersecurity.

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