Projects
Victoria's future local government workforce

Australia’s communities and economies are changing. A future-fit local government workforce will continue to adapt and innovate, whilst keeping sight of its place-based mission to advance prosperity for all.

Local Government Professionals (LGPro) Victoria engaged SGS Economics and Planning to prepare an Issues Paper outlining recent trends, highlighting key drivers of future need, and stimulating ideas and discussion on what is needed to develop a future-fit Victorian local government workforce.

Our research and engagement with 22 Victorian local governments highlights that:

• There are persistent skills gaps and recruitment challenges across the Victorian local government sector.
• The full potential of a diverse and growing Victorian local government sector is yet to be uncovered.
• External labour-market influences are creating a window of opportunity for the workforce.

A future-fit workforce should be grounded in local government’s purpose and place. Our research reveals 6 key themes to guide the sector’s workforce future:

1. Design a skills-based organisation. Design and refine a skills-based model for recruitment and retention across all career stages. Empower the workforce to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) safely, transparently, and effectively to improve service delivery without losing the human touch at the heart of local government.
2. Improve long-term workforce planning. Embed local and regional insights into labour market dynamics and resolve challenges through continuous knowledge sharing.
3. Leveraging the multi-generational workforce. Nurture a cohesive workplace culture across generations, with leadership opportunities for the next generation and the retention of an older workforce to benefit knowledge transfer, innovation, and mentorship.
4. Create experiences, not just employment. The future local government workforce routinely intersects multiple skill areas, teams, and stakeholder interactions, creating a unique employee experience grounded in local connections and clear links to tangible community outcomes.
5. Boost inclusion and diversity. Embrace diversity in all its forms – age, cultural, gender, ability, professional backgrounds – to shape better policies and programs that meet the needs of everyone in the community.
6. Enhance the sector’s profile. Provide lifelong employment opportunities that can make a difference to local people in the local community.

Click here to read the full report.

Michelle Tjondro sat down with LGPro to explore this project in this podcast episode.