Does anyone work in local authority admin?

[flexor]

Just wondering what it's like. Need a change and some sort of stability. I know each local authority is different but just wanted to know what it was like in terms of flexibility, learning new skills. Is it easy to to move around to other departments, move up. Is it boring!
I would be applying for admin jobs.
Thanks

I work for a local authority, not as an admin but as a manager. I really enjoy my work and try to make it as interesting as possible for our admin team. The amount of flexibility depends on the nature of the role. Prior to lockdown there wasn't a lot of flexibility, as our team worked defined hours. There are other roles within the Council which are far more flexible in terms of hours - but this should be made clear when you apply.

I think that some local authorities are more forward-thinking than others. Until recently, ours seemed very old fashioned and stuck but due to a change in leadership we are powering forward. They are sometimes very bureaucratic organisations with a form for everything!

There is lots of training available for our team - and we've really encouraged everyone to look wider in terms of training over lockdown. For example Future Learn courses. About 5 of my team are doing apprenticeships, which will lead to Level 3 or 4 qualifications. They already worked in our team and were not school or college leavers.

Some of the jobs can be quite stressful - particularly in departments such as housing or social care.

One last thing, most Councils have a standardised recruitment procedure, where you'll only get shortlisted if you respond fully to each point on the job spec. I have realised that not many people outside local authorities realise this.