Councils to save millions by putting job vacancies online

Councils across England are collaborating to advertise jobs through an innovative new scheme, set to save the economy millions of pounds. Jobseekers in the South East, South West and East Midlands will soon be offered a one-stop shop on the web for council jobs in their area. New web portals have been designed to allow jobseekers to search and apply for a wide range of employment opportunities in councils, and in some cases fire and rescue services and other public sector employers. By reducing expensive advertising and bureaucracy the portal service expects to save local authorities £15m over the next three years. Following the successful launch of NorthEastJobs.org in 2009, three more regions are developing linked recruitment portals as part of a programme funded by Communities and Local Government and delivered by the North East Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. Speaking from the LGA Conference in Bournemouth today, Councillor Rory Love, chairman of South East Employers said: “At South East Employers, we’ve responded to Eric Pickles’ call for a significant reduction in the cost of recruitment across the 74 councils in our region. SouthEastJobs.org.uk will help local people find work in key local services quickly and easily. The great thing about our web portal is that the data within it is available for anyone to use at no cost. We have adopted an open standard format – you will even be able to find jobs on Facebook and Twitter.” NorthEastJobs has already brought together 14 councils and fire and rescue services in the North East, offering a wide range of opportunities from Berwick to Redcar. SouthEastJobs.org.uk will be available to job seekers in July. Portals in the East Midlands and South West will follow shortly afterwards. A further regional portal is being considered by local authorities in the North West. Up to 150 local authorities could be making use of these portals by March 2011. By 2013 the service will save at least £15M. Notes to Editors: • The North East Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NEIEP) is one of nine Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships in England. It consists of the 12 North East councils and four Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and other key partners, supported by funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) to 2011. • Through IEPs, councils and FRSs collaborate to drive efficiencies and performance improvement. • The Recruitment Portals project is one of five Signature Projects around Increasing Productivity which between them will release £51m. • The RIEP programme office is based with ANEC at the Guildhall, Newcastle upon Tyne. • Our website www.northeastiep.gov.uk is updated regularly and our Strategy, Delivery Plan and Annual Report can be found on the home page. • South East Employers is independent, not-for profit and member led. Its local knowledge and professional expertise as an advisory and consultancy body for good employment practice, people development and supporting local democracy and partnership working adds value to 74 councils, nine fire and rescue services and other business and voluntary communities across the south east region. SEE works closely with other bodies such as Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) to build capacity, share good practice, improve performance and generate more efficient ways of working.

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