Jobs expected to be on offer at Central Coast Council next financial year include marketing officers, open space and recreation planners and engineering undergraduates.
The marketing officers would quantify customer insights, create new surveys and assess ongoing customer sentiment.
The engineering undergraduates would take on asset investigations and “build the talent pipeline” for highly technical roles.
But from an employer brand point of view Council admits it is facing issues regarding reputation.
It doesn’t expand on what the problems with the brand are but says there are other issues too.
“Job security, and overall culture / morale is also impacting on the number of candidates seeking employment with Council,” Council said.
Research showed that inherent barriers exist to those considering working in government broadly which include: workplace culture is unappealing; too much bureaucracy / rigid working environment; salaries are not competitive with the private sector; and the sector is perceived as stale and not innovative.
With 56 per cent of the workforce over the age of 45 years, Central Coast Council is highly reliant on mature aged workers.
“This reliance is not yet conversely supported by the recruitment and retention of younger staff where people aged between 16 and 25 represent only 1.8 per cent of permanent employees, opening a terrific opportunity for youth employment programs,” Council says.
According to Council’s draft Resourcing Strategy new staff would be part of the current headcount.
At the conclusion of last year’s restructure to cut costs, the headcount had been reduced by about 300 to 2,183 and is now less than that.
“Central Coast Council is a complex organisation employing 2,172 people (headcount) across a range of services,” the strategy says.
The Council’s long-term financial plan shows 2.5 per cent pay increases per year for staff for the next few years.
Merilyn Vale
If you create a toxic workplace its no wonder council have a brand problem! Anyone applying for a position in Gosford will have to drive to Wyong a 40 minute drive at best or over an hour on a bad day plus wear and tear on the car and $100 a week in fuel. Which adds more traffic on the roads and 2 hours on the work day. Will they be covered by workers compensation if they are involved in an accident? Of course only the workers will pay this cost the Management and Executives will be subsidised or at no cost.