National Training Survey 2009 Presentation to 13 th Annual Conference of Water Services Training Group White’s Hotel, Wexford 10 th September 2009 Presentation made by John Conway Training & Development Executive with LGMSB

Aim of today’s presentation Provide delegates with the following answers;  Why was this National Training Survey conducted?  How was it conducted?  What questions did the survey ask?  What were the findings for the water services sections of local authorities?  What use will this information be? Meeting the Challenges of the Changed Economic Environment Annual Conference September 2009

What is the LGMSB? The Local Government Management Services Board (LGMSB) was established in 1997 to be a centre of excellence in the provision of management services, HR and IR support & advice to local authorities. One of key goals of the HR division is to provide guidance, advice and support to local authorities on how to effectively address the training & development needs of their employees. National T&D steering committee established to guide and direct work of LGMSB and to ensure a level of co- ordination with other bodies (e,g.) national training group and RTCs, by means of joint committee membership. LGMSB is currently merging with the LGCSB to form the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA)

Training Survey or TNA? Survey covering more than TNA. Not a detailed TNA of each grade/staff position. Training survey designed to identify issues and approaches to training across the local government sector as well as identifying what training is specifically required by what sections of staff in each business unit. Survey designed to provide greater linkage between training needs of staff and business objectives. Assumptions being that in current economic climate (i) training budget will be cut; and (ii) business need will be prioritised over career development by employing local authorities

Objective of conducting survey This National Training Survey is intended to assist the National Training & Development Steering Committee and the LGMSB in achieving the following objectives: To identify the current and future staff training and development requirements of local authorities as measured against the business priorities of the sector; To determine the impact of budgetary constraints on current and future delivery of staff Training and Development activities; To identify the current gaps in the skills, knowledge and behaviours of local authority staff that are being identified through the PDP portion of the PMDS process; To determine the extent to which various training interventions are being employed by local authorities in order to deliver targeted and value for money staff Training & Development; and To identify the extent to which barriers exist within local authority structures that impact upon the take up of staff training & development

Structure/content of survey Comprised of 6 sections Section 1 for completion by business units Section 2 for completion by SMT Sections 3 – 6 were completed by TOs 3 : impact of budgetary constraints on staff T&D 4 : skills gaps identified through PDPs 5 : training interventions in use within LAs 6 : barriers to training

Questions for business units Training priorities for business units for 2009 – 2010 based on identified business plan objective and pressing business issues Business units were asked to estimate the numbers of staff needing this training Identify what impact the likely budgetary constraints will have on the manpower requirements of the business unit

Rank the overall priorities for staff T&D for the next 2-3 years. Identify cross functional training needs (if any) Identify what impact the likely budgetary constraints will have on the provision of staff T&D. What approach will the local authority be taking to the provision of educational assistance in the coming years? Questions for SMTs

Questions for Training Officers What training needs for specific staff grades are the PDP’s identifying? How linked are training needs identified through the PDP’s to the business plan/team plans of each business unit? What type of training interventions are employed in your local authority? What organisational barriers (if any) are faced by staff wishing to attend training and/or development opportunities

Timeframe for survey completion Letter issued (April 09) to all CCM’s on how the survey was to be conducted. Survey was distributed to all Training Officers (April 09) Business units completed and returned section 1 survey forms to the Training Officers Training Officers collated the information and made return to LGMSB using online survey form. (May/June 09) LGMSB collated all 34 survey responses IPA engaged to do analysis of result findings and to draft report First draft of report is to be presented to the National Training & Development Steering Committee on16th September National Training & Development Steering Committee to work with IPA and make recommendations on staff Training & Development arising from report Recommendations and report to be issued to County & City Managers and Training Officers before completion of estimates process

Response rate to date Big thank you to all SMTs, staff in business units and Training Officers for all the hard work put in! 34 responses received 30 returned with all sections completed + 4 partially completed

Results – Water Services 15 out of a possible 34 local authorities supplied a response for water services (44% response rate) The 15 submissions received were made up of 13 distinct water services sections identified as individual business units and 2 sections grouped together with transportation as infrastructure business units

Business issues highlighted by Water Service units The business issues highlighted by the Water Service Units can be grouped together under 6 main headings (see table 1) Water services legislation Ensuring and maintenance of water quality Treatment of waste water Water supply conservation including leak detection Funding for capital programmes including water services investment programme Water pricing and water metering

Training needs associated with business issues – General Themes from Responses 72% of responses indicate that water services staff will require further training to deliver on all or some of the identified business issues and cover for staff shortages 13% of the water service units that completed the survey indicated that they felt no additional skills training was required to carry out existing services Ongoing budgetary constraints and the general economic climate and the impact they are or will have on the delivery of quality water services to the public are a cause of major concerns for 20% of those sections that completed the survey return Staff training will be needed in most current work activities as local authorities shift from project management of external consultants to direct provision of services with in-house staff. Staff will assume new responsibilities Training requirements will depend upon the existing skills of staff assigned to projects or assigned new responsibilities. Some may not need training, others will.

Staffing issues which will require some upskilling of remaining staff 20% of those that completed the survey indicated that the loss of experienced staff will be an ongoing issue as well as a potential public health risk. Potential shortfall in resources necessary to meet statutory obligations (e.g.) monitoring. Increased public demands.

Training Needs - specifics ( refer to table 2 ) L & D opportunities aimed at improving knowledge and understanding of existing and likely water services legislation as well as enforcement and obligatory issues can be identified as the main priority. Need is across all grades within water services sections. Numbers needing training are nearly twice as many as any other need. Training in the management and operation of water and waste water treatment plants is a need that extends right across from admin, engineering/technical and operational staff. Specialised technical training for engineering/technical and operational staff. Lots of examples were given without any being clearly identified as being a high need across all local authorities. The main ones identified were technical skills in relation to SCADA, water conservation training, IT training in specific software packages, etc. Health & Safety is identified as the third largest single need. However this training is mainly generic Health & Safety training and not specific to water services per se.

Next Steps – Reporting & Recommendations Report findings to be considered by National Training & Development Steering Committee. Final draft report including recommendations to be published before end of estimates process Report will include chapter on the various business units that submitted sufficient completed section 1s As with the other business units the Water services chapter will include final, conclusions, identify priorities and make recommendations as to how the training needs can be addressed for those sections As well as distribution to individual local authorities report will be distributed to all relevant bodies and committees (ie) CCMA, National Training Group and committees, RTCs, etc., Recommendations and prioritisations contained in the report will assist individual local authorities when it comes to prioritising their own training needs and allocating resources accordingly over the coming year (s) Provide steer for LGMSB regarding sectoral needs.

Questions? Contact: John Conway Training & Development Executive LGMA Telephone No. (01)