Local Governments are a major employer in WA, with 22,600 FTE employees across the State. Local Governments employ workers across the whole State, and in some cases are the major employer in some regional towns.

Like other sectors of the WA economy, skills shortages are a key issue facing Local Governments. Workforce planning support from the State Government to address these shortages is crucial to ensure Local Governments can continue to effectively serve their communities.

In 2022, SGS Economics and Planning conducted a survey for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to understand the workforce needs and priorities of Australia’s Local Government sector. The survey revealed several longstanding issues that hinder workforce development:

• Persistent Skills Shortages: Local Governments are struggling with shortages in many occupations, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change impacts, and the rapid adoption of technology. In 2021-22, 90% of WA Local Governments reported skills shortages, a significant increase from 47% in 2018.
• Recruitment and Retention Challenges: Finding and keeping skilled staff is a major problem, with ongoing issues of employee attrition and an ageing workforce.
• Mismatch of Skills: There are difficulties in securing the right mix of skills, which affects productivity not only in Local Governments but also in local economies. Professions with the greatest shortages include building surveyors, risk managers, engineers, and town planners, impacting nearly a quarter of all Councils. Customer service workers, labourers, and truck drivers also face high shortages, affecting around a third of WA Local Governments.
• Operational Impact: Skills shortages are already disrupting Local Government operations. 59% of respondents reported project delivery delays due to vacancies, skills gaps, or training needs. As a result, Local Governments are increasingly hiring less skilled applicants for key roles such as governance and risk managers, community development officers, customer service workers, and truck drivers.

A comprehensive workforce plan needs to be developed for the Local Government sector, that includes a focus on recruitment, retention and training for current and emerging areas of skills shortages. This should include funding for a dedicated training program for priority skills such as Environmental Health Offices, Town Planners and Building Surveyors.