Local Authority Graduate Programme 2020

November Golf · 31-12-2020 2:01am #1

Closed to application on Wednesday 17th December 2020.

Hi All,

Did anyone apply for the recent Local Authority Graduate programme run by the Local Government Management Agency.

Have you heard anything about the next stage of the recruitment process?

mulligja · 01-01-2021 8:01pm

Hey applied but not heard anything yet, will keep you posted if do.

exitstageleft · 02-01-2021 3:33pm

Heard nothing back yet either.

job seeker · 03-01-2021 7:35pm

I seen this but was unsure and I didn't apply in the end. What was the required qualifications for this? It seems like a great opportunity..

November Golf · 04-01-2021 1:51am

job seeker wrote: »

I seen this but was unsure and I didn't apply in the end. What was the required qualifications for this? It seems like a great opportunity..

It does seem interesting unfortunately however it only a three year contract.

The requirement was a minimum of 2.2 honours degree (Level 8) relevant to the specific role you were applied for. The roles were across 7 streams and you could applies for more than one depending on your qualification;

Economic Enterprise and Business Development
Project and Programme Management
Innovation, Strategy and Change Management
Human Resource Management
Communication and Marketing
Data Analytics and Data Metrics
Climate Action

exitstageleft · 04-01-2021 2:45pm

Since there are a variety of roles with each council I wonder if they will use a mass testing / application process or if each council will proceed at their own speed with their own lists.

For instance, will people in Cork go through a different or quicker process than those in Dublin? Or will the different streams progress at different times?

job seeker · 04-01-2021 11:15pm

Mike Foxtrot wrote: »

It does seem interesting unfortunately however it only a three year contract.

The requirement was a minimum of 2.2 honours degree (Level 8) relevant to the specific role you were applied for. The roles were across 7 streams and you could applies for more than one depending on your qualification;
Economic Enterprise and Business Development

Project and Programme Management

Innovation, Strategy and Change Management

Human Resource Management

Communication and Marketing

Data Analytics and Data Metrics

Climate Action

A three-year contract ain't bad for a graduate program. I've only ever seen 6 months/1 year contracts. It will also be a fantastic addition to your C.V.

I now see I couldn't apply for any of the above anyway with my 2.2 honours degree in culinary arts. :pac:

mouton · 12-01-2021 1:33pm

I received an email from the LGMA to say that my application is valid and will go forward for shortlisting.

The timeline appears to be:

End January: shortlisting
Early February: email with results of shortlisting

WoolyJumper · 12-01-2021 3:57pm

I received the same email this morning. Any idea what the shortlisting stage will entail? Is it an interview or some kind of assessment?

November Golf · 12-01-2021 9:19pm

WoolyJumper wrote: »

I received the same email this morning. Any idea what the shortlisting stage will entail? Is it an interview or some kind of assessment?

In general, shortlisting is usually an administrative task. The applications are assessed by a board against a set list of criteria and given a score.

The next email will likely be to inform successful candidates that they made the shortlist and, if or when, they will be invited to interview.

mouton · 13-01-2021 11:00am

From the information booklet:

"Shortlisting will be based solely on the direct relevance of an applicant’s academic qualifications to the skills area being applied for. Graduates who are successful at the shortlisting stage will proceed to a regional interview stage."

Those 50 words in Section D will have a lot of work to do...

BBB25 · 04-02-2021 2:10pm

Hi all. Has anyone heard anymore from the local authorities? They said they would be in touch early February so I was hoping to hear this week.

WoolyJumper · 04-02-2021 2:47pm

No, haven't heard anything yet. My experience with any kind of civil service job application is things move very slowly.

mouton · 04-02-2021 4:21pm

I was also hoping for news! But I guess it's still *early* early Feb.

exitstageleft · 09-02-2021 9:51am

Anyone else get a fairly pointless email this morning explaining that they're still shortlisting but that they'll be finished shortly and will then send another email?

mouton · 09-02-2021 10:13am

exitstageleft wrote: »

Anyone else get a fairly pointless email this morning explaining that they're still shortlisting but that they'll be finished shortly and will then send another email?

Yes! Even though it said more or less nothing, I was happy to receive an update as I has been contemplating calling them.

WoolyJumper · 09-02-2021 11:01am

Yeah I got that email to say they are still shortlisting their shortlist but should be finished shortly.

In fairness I'd say the got a lot of queries about it which is why they gave us the update. Though it might have been better to send out that email tomorrow once they finished shortlisting the applicants. Either way looks like we will know by the end of next week at the latest.

mouton · 15-02-2021 8:26pm

I just received an email from the LGMA. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.

"For 3 of the 4 regions (i.e.) Dublin; Eastern & Midlands and Southern regions the cut of point at which applicants were called for interview across all 7 skills areas was the maximum score of 11. It should be noted that a maximum score of 11 indicates that the applicant had a directly relevant level 9 postgraduate award or Masters degree for the skills area that they have applied for."

So in my area (Southern) one needed a relevant masters to get to interview. I applied for Climate Action and Innovation, Strategy and Change Management streams and while I took relevant modules as part of my masters, my masters overall (public policy) was not directly relevant so I understand not being successful.

Did any of you make it to the next stage?

exitstageleft · 15-02-2021 8:45pm

Hard luck Mouton! I haven't heard anything back yet but based off what you said I'm not too hopeful! That's pretty stiff competition for the job level, to be fair.

WoolyJumper · 15-02-2021 10:43pm

Haven't heard anything yet but I am in the Southern Region so not holding out much hope either.

cvb03 · 16-02-2021 4:07pm

I was also unsuccessful. Congratulations to all those who were successful, best of luck.

K00222043 · 16-02-2021 8:20pm

Hard luck! Did you receive your email yesterday or today? Sitting on my hands waiting for any kind of response here

exitstageleft · 16-02-2021 8:29pm

Kinda strange that some people have heard back and others haven't.
Has anyone heard back that they are through to the next stage?

WoolyJumper · 16-02-2021 8:44pm

Still nothing here either

WoolyJumper · 17-02-2021 12:11pm

Just heard back this morning. I was also unsuccessful. It seems they got a huge amount of applicants which set the standards very high. As Mouton said they are only accepting applicants with Masters degree directly related to the skill area. There are only two exceptions to this in the Border and Western Region:

"For the Border & Western region the cut-off point at which applicants were called for interview was also 11 but only for 5 of the 7 skills areas. The two exceptions for this region being Economic Enterprise & Business Development where the cut-off point was a shortlisting score of 10 and Project & Programme Management where the cut-off point was 9. The variation within the Border & Western region was so as to ensure a sufficient number of applicants for the available vacancies within that region."

Anyway best of luck to those who got through to next stage

17-02-2021 12:15pm

Awful nonsense.

I'm a few years in the Public Service since graduating and have worked in an American MNC as well as a Sales Office with a Level 8 degree and couldn't even get by the application process.... I've done a lot since I graduated given the timeframe.

The bar must be set exceptionally high alright.

mouton · 17-02-2021 12:45pm

Hard luck everyone!

It's not just that the bar was high, it was also very narrow i.e. relevant masters degree only, rather than transferrable skills and knowledge gained through work or less ostensibly relevant studies. I guess the high volume of applicants necessitates such crude criteria to select who to take to the next stage.

I actually feel relieved to know the outcome as on reflection yesterday I realised it was on my mind for month as I waited for the email. The outcome is disappointing but it's good to move on!

Has anyone experience of other local government roles?
I see that Cork County Council are looking for Assistant Staff Officers but I'm worried that I might be over-qualified for this role (I've a masters in public policy and a few years of public sector experience) and therefore find the work dull, but on the other hand it's a start and might lead to other roles. Does anyone have any insight on these Assistant Staff Officer roles and the kind of work one would be doing?
(I realise it's possibly hard to say as they likely vary considerably around the country but I'm not familiar with them myself so any insight is helpful!)

exitstageleft · 17-02-2021 5:45pm

mouton wrote: »

It's not just that the bar was high, it was also very narrow i.e. relevant masters degree only, rather than transferrable skills and knowledge gained through work or less ostensibly relevant studies.

After a few extra days waiting I received the "thanks but no thanks" email today too.
I agree with Mouton that the absolute reliance on particular degree topics made for an extremely narrow window. It might have been easier if they had just stated they were looking for such specific qualifications from the get-go but I guess the application wasn't all that taxing either.
Congrats to those who made it through!

Zoejohnston08 · 18-02-2021 11:10am

Has anyone heard anything from the communications stream? The wait is killing me!

K00222043 · 18-02-2021 1:20pm

Yep I didn't get it due to not having a Master's degree. I got 9 in Communication and Marketing but the min was 11 so only 2 off. Thankfully doing a postgrad now so who knows. Best of luck to the people who got in

Klquery · 20-02-2021 5:03pm

Anyone heard back with positive feedback?

Im still waiting to hear back at all! I did receive an email in January asking me to put my application into a single document, but never got an email to say my application was valid and going forth for shortlisting?

I think I will email them next week cause everyone seems to have got a reply!

I actually have a relevant postgrad so Im hoping Ive been shortlisted.

Local Authority Graduate Programme 2020

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