PUBLIC PRACTICE EXPANDS ITS ASSOCIATE PROGRAMME TO THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

This announcement comes as Public Practice's national Local Authority Resourcing and Skills Survey finds that difficulties attracting skilled staff is by far the largest recruitment issue faced by local authorities, cited by 79% of the survey's respondents.

Public Practice, the social enterprise with a mission to build the public sector's capacity to improve places, plays a key role in supporting public sector authorities to identify gaps in the capacity of planning and place-shaping teams. The organisation then matches skilled candidates to year-long placements with authorities, which are supported by learning, development and knowledge sharing activities.

In February, Homes England with the support of the Department of Levelling Up, Homes and Communities (DLUHC) launched their investment of just over £200,000 in Public Practice, to enable the not-for-profit's expansion across the country.

As part of this, Public Practice's Local Authority Resourcing and Skills Survey was designed to build understanding of skills gaps and the impact that a lack of resources has on officers and their teams across England.

Call for local authorities and candidates

National research findings:

Key findings included:

Full press release: www.publicpractice.org.uk,