What are the typical earnings of these occupations?
How do you get a job in this sector?
What are the main occupations in this sector?
Below are a sample of the type of careers offered by the Local Authorities.
Clerical/Administrative/Managerial Careers in the Clerical/Administrative area involve managing and supporting the work undertaken by the various departments in the local authorities. As with all large organizations local authorities would employ a range of staff with financial and IT skills to support the work of the other departments.
Engineering Engineers are employed in most of the major operational areas of local authorities (e.g.) roads, environmental services such as water supply and sewerage/drainage, housing, etc. Engineers implement policies of Government, their Local Authority and other national bodies such as the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Engineers plan, design, monitor, supervise, ensure compliance with standards, administer contractual matters, apply safe working practices and control expenditure on major infrastructural schemes.
Technicians Local Authority Technicians are involved primarily in the provision of technical services and information to the different departments within the local authorities.
General Operatives General Operatives provide labour intensive services including working as roads maintenance (paving) operatives, road sweeping and gardeners.
What types of employment contracts are there?
There are various types of employment contracts available in the local authorities sector including, temporary contracts, fixed term contracts, specific purpose contracts and permanent contracts.
The local government aims to develop family friendly work life balance arrangements and offers a wide range of working options for example:
Work sharing: Employees may work a different pattern to the regular full-time week. For example, working a three-day week
Term time: Unpaid leave in the summer to enable employees to match their working lives with their children’s holidays
Flexible working arrangements: For example flexitime, special leave, career breaks
Availability of atypical and family friendly working arrangements are a matter for each local authority based on the individual circumstances of each local authority, the staff member applying and the operational requirements for the post.
What can a career in local government offer you?
An interesting and fulfilling job
A wide range of career choices
The satisfaction of providing services that people need
A salary commensurate with your experience
A secure working environment
Flexible working arrangements
An open environment governed by fair procedures at all stages of employment
The opportunity for extensive training & personal development
A definite career progression path
What are the typical earnings of these occupations?
All authorities within the Local Government sector are equal opportunities employers. Each authority has its own Human Resource Department which looks after all local recruitment and selection processes. As the roles in the local authorities are varied, so too are the salaries. Each role in the local authority is linked to a relevant pay scale. Pay scales are assessed under the Benchmarking body and are subject to increases under the National Wage Agreements.
Salary scales for the Local Authorities are determined by the position and grade of the job you apply for. Each position has various pay levels, which are based on the applicants qualifications and experience.
The higher the grade at which an applicant enters the Local Authority, the higher the original starting salary will be. If candidates enter at a lower grade, they can apply for promotions as they gain experience and expertise and if successful, they will progress up the salary scale.
For full salary details of the job you are interested in, check the job application details for this position on the www.publicjobs.ie website or with the HR section of local authority that is recruiting.
How do you get a job in this sector?
Each local authority has its own Human Resources department, which with the assistance of the Local Government Management Services Board (LGMSB), is responsible for most local recruitment and selection processes. The filling of more senior vacancies in local authorities, like that of County Manager or Director of Service, is undertaken by the Public Appointments Service. There is currently a moratorium on the hiring of staff. However, all job vacancies are advertised in the national press, local newspapers and depending on each local authority on the careers/vacancies page of their own website.
