A newly released Public TV video actively explores the viability of working in the Public Sector. The programme takes a frank look at the current working opportunities available in the sector including insight into the advantages and disadvantages from interviews with some leading Recruitment and Talent Management specialists. (more…)

The West Lancashire District Council has launched a ‘Talent Pool’ to assist with its recruitment needs for CLEANERS. This newly launched online portal will enable applicants who apply for cleaning jobs with the District Council but to be added to an accessible ‘Pool of Talent’.

This new pilot initiative holds easily accessible information about individuals who have previously applied for positions. This in turn saves the applicant having to fill in duplicate lengthy application forms for future positions.<!–more–>

As a result this enables the Council to access talent quickly, cuts recruitment costs and reduces the need for temporary staff.

It also means that good candidates are not discarded, or overlooked from the system, they also get the recruitment experience they deserve because they can be called to interview again when another vacancy arises.

The Council is piloting the project initially with cleaning jobs as these vacancies occur regularly. If successful, it is hoped the project will be expanded to cover other areas of work within the council such as customer services.

Clive Walsh, Human Resources Manager at West Lancashire District Council is positive about the potential of the new online portal. “The launch of the new talent pool for cleaners means that we will be much more efficient in our recruitment process. We will reduce our time to hire and will be saving money in terms of recruitment exercises and on having to use staff via agencies. This is because at the touch of a button we will be able to search for candidates’ and match their skills to the requirements of the job. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!”

When visiting www.westlancsdc.gov.uk/jobs candidates can register their interest and they will be contacted with suitable opportunities that have arisen. Candidates can also update their skill sets and preferences by logging back onto the website at anytime.

This latest drive compliments the existing online facilities for job seekers on the District Council website when applying for job vacancies.. Currently, more than 80% of applicants are applying to advertised vacancies online and this trend is likely to continue. All applications are still available by telephone and a hard copy can be sent to applicants who do not have access to the internet

If you would like any more details about this press release or would like to arrange an interview, please contact Nicky Speed in the PR Unit at West Lancashire District Council on 01695 585 011.

One of the largest collaborations of its kind, involving 20 local authorities right across the north east of England, is set to ensure our key future public service leaders and customer facing staff have the skills they need to deliver the high quality services we want.
Working with top web-based talent management technology providers, JGP (publishers of Jobsgopublic.com), these pioneering local authorities are joining forces to conduct a skills audit for 1500 key middle managers and 1500 customer service staff using JGP’s Skills Portal.<!–more–>

The targeted staff are asked to assess themselves using the Skills Portal online with their line managers validating the results. Immediately, these results can be analysed and skills gaps or underused capacity identifed; training or development targeted and resources deployed more effectively.

The managers’ skills audit, funded by the Regional Improvement Partnership for North East Local Government, aims to ensure staff have the necessary skills to implement effective change across the region in response to the improvement agenda and local government reorganisation.

The customer services skills audit funded by the Learning and Skills Council, North East Region will enable an in depth understanding of customer service levels, skills gaps and the regional and sub-regional demand for NVQ’s and other learning resources.

Mark Henderson, Northumberland County Council’s Chief Executive said: “Middle managers are tomorrow’s leaders and are critical to organisational success. They will make or break initiatives, so investment in them is vital for the future of public services in the north east which is why this work is essential”.

Mick Brodie, Director of the North East Regional Employers Organisation said: “This project represents a fantastic opportunity for two funding bodies to work collectively, achieving their own goals while capitalising on each others investment”.

The partnership also benefits enormously from the agreement to all use the same skills and competency frameworks, allowing for a more efficient approach, and the ability to share and pool development resources when addressing any skills gaps. Understanding staff in common terms like this paves the way for more effective talent management, including consistent career pathways, recruitment and succession planning.

Some of the features and benefits of the Skill’s Portal are as follows:
• Hosted online and accessible through a normal web browser eases collaboration between councils and remote access
• Easy to use assessment screens provide a consistent and fair way to reach staff
• Self assessment conrmed and validated by managers ensures consistency and understanding of the standards that need to be achieved
• Detailed reports and analysis in order to identify and risk assess skills gaps and tailor learning
• Economies of scale in regards training and development costs as well as shared standards and actions

JGP’s Founder, Richard Tyrie, said: “By creating a North East Skills Portal we can ensure that key managers and customer service staff will have the training they need to enable them to deliver first class public services right across the region – great news for all public sector service users”.

The project launched in December 2006 will continue throughout 2007.

A unique partnership set to transform the way in which talent is recruited into the social housing sector has been launched this week.

Six major social housing organisations have joined forces with top web based talent management technology providers, JGP (publishers of Jobsgopublic.com) to provide MyHousingCareer.com, a specialist jobsboard and career service for the social housing sector. (more…)

InfoBasis and JGP, the leading provider of web-based talent management technology to the public sector, have combined forces to provide skills analysis for 20 local authorities in the North East of England.

1,500 key middle managers and 1,500 customer service staff will conduct a skills audit using JGP’s Skills Portal, provided by InfoBasis Enterprise Skills Manager™ (InfoBasis ESM). The project underpins regional initiatives aimed at increasing skills and capacity in Customer Service and Middle Management. Analysis of the validated self-assessments will be used to identify skills gaps or underused capacity, to target training, and to deploy resources more effectively.

The managers’ skills audit, funded by the Regional Improvement Partnership for North East Local Government, aims to ensure employees have the necessary skills to implement effective change across the region in response to the improvement agenda and local government reorganisation.

The customer services skills audit, funded by the Learning and Skills Council North East Region, will enable an in-depth understanding of customer service levels, skills gaps and the regional and sub-regional demand for NVQs and other learning resources.

Mick Brodie, Director of the North East Regional Employers Organisation said: “This project represents a fantastic opportunity for two funding bodies to work collectively, achieving their own goals while capitalising on each others investment.”

JGP’s Founder, Richard Tyrie, said: “By creating a North East Skills Portal we can ensure that all key managers and customer service staff will have access to the training they need to enable them to perform their best and deliver first class public services right across the region.”

InfoBasis CEO Ashley Wheaton commented: “Providing capability management for local governments is different to other organisations - skills sets are varied across the country, yet the need for competency always remains critically high. Working with InfoBasis and JGP, the local authorities in the North East are on the right path to fully understanding their skills and ensuring the public reap the benefit.”

About JGP (www.jgp.co.uk)
• JGP has been working with the public and not-for-profit sectors helping them access wider and more diverse sources of jobseekers since 1998, with the fourth generation of the Jobsgopublic network attracting more than 600,000 jobseekers a month and listing more than 50,000 vacancies a year.

• Starting life as a “jobs board”, JGP now provides web-based talent management solutions that help organisations attract, hire, develop and retain talented people at a fraction of the cost of using paper-driven processes and print-media advertising.

• Since 1999, JGP has provided these services to more than 1000 public sector employers - the majority in local government.

• Delivered in the spirit of collaboration and to support public sector agendas, JGP’s solutions promote efficiency, diversity, social inclusion, to enable citizen-centric self-service, to support work in regards the Data Protection Act, the DDA and web accessibility obligations, e-government principles and e-GIF requirements.

• JGP’s technology enables organisations to operate faster, more transparently and much more affordably.

For more information, please contact JGP’s Haylee Corfield on 020 7923 5643 or haylee.corfield@jgp.co.uk.

About InfoBasis
InfoBasis is the leading provider of capability management solutions. The InfoBasis Enterprise Skills Infrastructure™ (InfoBasis ESI) platform enables effective capability management, from strategic workforce asset planning and resource deployment to learning delivery. Used by Microsoft, BAE Systems and the NHS as the platform for their Human Capital Management (HCM) services, InfoBasis software is uniquely configurable.

With skills management underpinning and linking each of ten core processes, InfoBasis Total Capability Management™ (InfoBasis TCM) enables employers to make intelligent, informed decisions about the right combination of strategies, based explicitly on their desired business outcome. InfoBasis TCM is specifically designed to address the entire spectrum of the Employee Lifecycle and will help organisations to undergo a new dimension of business evolution.

Effective Total Capability Management benefits include: identification of key talent; improved retention and performance; structured career paths and programs; streamlined recruitment processes; targeted training plans. Together, the benefits of InfoBasis TCM ensure a fitter, agile, and more competent enterprise.

Find out more about Total Capability Management at www.infobasis.com