What is The Public Sector?
The term 'public sector' refers to the part of organisational and economic life that deals with the delivery of services and goods by and for the government whether it's national, regional (such as County Council) or local (such as District or Borough Council). Any aspect of the economy which is controlled by government spending and employment is considered to be public sector. Examples of jobs range from administering benefits, administering urban planning and law enforcement.
What kind of jobs can you find in the Public Sector?
The public sector offers a large range of jobs in a wide range of areas. The kind of jobs you might find might include:
• Care jobs such as childcare and care managers.
• Administration jobs like secretarial and data entry.
• Social work jobs such as support work, outreach programme work and youth support.
• Economic development such as business consultancy, business management and workforce development.
• Environmental Jobs such as planning officers.
• Consultancy and advisory Jobs in areas such as education and nursing.
• Emergency services Jobs such as police, fire service and ambulance.
• Local services jobs like library workers
• Parking enforcement such as traffic wardens and car park assistants.
• And many more.
What public sector jobs are available to you?
Wherever you live in the UK it is usually the case that two of the biggest employers are public sector - your local councils. Both are often great employers offering a vast array of public sector jobs. You can find part time jobs, permanent jobs, full time jobs, contract jobs and temporary jobs in addition to apprenticeships, charity work and access to work. Local councils also have a strong commitment to equality of opportunity to employment with assistance available to those who need it. Local councils also provide extensive of training for new and existing staff improving the future opportunities available to them
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Public Sector
I imagine that there are some readers who will eagerly begin reading this article expecting me to either say how great the public sector is in this area (like steering a tanker, sterling effort, lots of good work being done) or how bad and behind the times they are (bureaucracy, bound by unions, outdated structures, jobs for life). Both groups will be disappointed I'm afraid. It would be foolish to make a sweeping statement about the performance of hundreds of thousands of people in such an article.
Just like the private sector, there are good and bad examples. The drivers and barriers are the same but the resources and tactics used may differ. What I will do is discuss these and leave it to the readers to decide what is applicable in their particular case. The only requirement on the reader is that they are not allowed to say 'we could not do that here, it just would not work'. Creativity and Innovation is for you, you just don't know how to embrace it. First of all let us look at the overall shape of an organisation and ask the following questions:
Are management always micromanaging staff?
Do you work on your own or as groups of individuals?
Is there a lack of desire to win or meet targets?
Is there a lack of vision of what winning looks like?
Are you inward looking?
Do you have a relatively small number of external relationships?
Do you have a stagnant culture with some stress and/or low morale?
The right environment does not exist for employees to stretch themselves?
Management do not get the best from employees?
If you answer 'yes' or agree with one or more of the above then your capacity to innovate will be hampered. Agree with them all and you need to change jobs quickly. If you are a manager in a public sector organisation and have grudgingly given 'yes' answers on the grounds that the organisation is tackling the issues in question, ask how fast are things changing, will the project ever be complete, will it make any difference?
Many public sector services have had innovation written into their service plans in the last few years and failed to deliver, mainly because those producing the plans inserted the word Innovation without understanding what it meant in a local context.
If you are intrigued by the 'finger in the air' test above then you might also like to think about the following topics - strategic barriers, organisational and corporate culture, learning, leadership and management, process and structure, collaboration and knowledge sharing. If you sense any black marks in those areas then perhaps you should start creating an action plan sooner rather than later.
Derek Cheshire is an expert, speaker, consultant and facilitator in the areas of Business Creativity, Innovation and Idea Generation. He is creator of the Innovation Toolkit, and co creator of workshops such as Creating The Difference, Creativity as a Business Tool, Sticky Strategy and The Idea Factory. Derek is also a director of the PRD Partnership, experts in commercialising ideas.
Just like the private sector, there are good and bad examples. The drivers and barriers are the same but the resources and tactics used may differ. What I will do is discuss these and leave it to the readers to decide what is applicable in their particular case. The only requirement on the reader is that they are not allowed to say 'we could not do that here, it just would not work'. Creativity and Innovation is for you, you just don't know how to embrace it. First of all let us look at the overall shape of an organisation and ask the following questions:
Are management always micromanaging staff?
Do you work on your own or as groups of individuals?
Is there a lack of desire to win or meet targets?
Is there a lack of vision of what winning looks like?
Are you inward looking?
Do you have a relatively small number of external relationships?
Do you have a stagnant culture with some stress and/or low morale?
The right environment does not exist for employees to stretch themselves?
Management do not get the best from employees?
If you answer 'yes' or agree with one or more of the above then your capacity to innovate will be hampered. Agree with them all and you need to change jobs quickly. If you are a manager in a public sector organisation and have grudgingly given 'yes' answers on the grounds that the organisation is tackling the issues in question, ask how fast are things changing, will the project ever be complete, will it make any difference?
Many public sector services have had innovation written into their service plans in the last few years and failed to deliver, mainly because those producing the plans inserted the word Innovation without understanding what it meant in a local context.
If you are intrigued by the 'finger in the air' test above then you might also like to think about the following topics - strategic barriers, organisational and corporate culture, learning, leadership and management, process and structure, collaboration and knowledge sharing. If you sense any black marks in those areas then perhaps you should start creating an action plan sooner rather than later.
Derek Cheshire is an expert, speaker, consultant and facilitator in the areas of Business Creativity, Innovation and Idea Generation. He is creator of the Innovation Toolkit, and co creator of workshops such as Creating The Difference, Creativity as a Business Tool, Sticky Strategy and The Idea Factory. Derek is also a director of the PRD Partnership, experts in commercialising ideas.
Public Sector Sales
The public sector is, to some, a mysterious or little-understood world. A common preconception is that it is entirely composed of local and national governmental bodies, and furthermore, is bureaucratic, stiffly hierarchical and boring.
In fact, the public sector comprises of a much wider range of organisations, including charities, the NHS, the BBC, the army, the police and various educational bodies. Last year one-fifth of people working in the UK were employed in the public sector. The question is; do they know something you don't? The public sector is stuffed full of fantastic charity jobs, volunteering jobs and environmental positions, and is a great way to start off your ethical career. If you need more proof, just take a look at the Public Service Career Information Report, courtesy of Iceni Productions. The study asked people from all kinds of public sector careers how they felt about their jobs, in terms of career progression, training, pay and much more. The results bust the myths that have surrounded the sector for so long. There is no career progression Half the respondents said that they had an opportunity for promotion at the time of the research, whilst 90% said they had plenty of opportunity to gain valuable training, which in turn can aid career progression. The public sector is no place to make money Six out of ten public sector employees considered themselves well-paid, which, in the current economic climate, is reasonable. An impressive 89%, however, said that they were provided with great benefits such as a generous pension from their employers, boosting their economic situation. Public sector employees are hidden away in "ivory towers" of authorities Maybe a few are, but if daily contact with clients, customers and partners is what makes your day, take note; 86% of respondents said that they have regular interaction with a range of people other than their colleagues. The public sector is all bureaucracy and no fun stuff Public sector work is infamous for its alleged obsession with red tape, and that can put off job seekers who fear they will be bogged down with administrative paperwork and no enjoyable work. The survey shows, however, that 75% of respondents said their job involved making important decisions, whilst even more (79%) said that their job allowed them room to be creative and express ideas. Public sector work feels pointless, repetitive, and unfulfilling Apparently, not so! Over 80% of the respondents said that their work was varied enough to keep them interested, that they had great job satisfaction, and that one of the main attractions of the job was that they felt they were contributing something worthwhile to society.
Almost all of the respondents said they would recommend working in the public sector, in any of its many areas, and with credentials like these, who wouldn't? If you would like a charity career or maybe want to turn your hand to a volunteering job, but are apprehensive of the public sector; don't be. It seems to be the new place to build a great career.
Go to www.salesrecruitmentjobsite.com for all sales opportunities
In fact, the public sector comprises of a much wider range of organisations, including charities, the NHS, the BBC, the army, the police and various educational bodies. Last year one-fifth of people working in the UK were employed in the public sector. The question is; do they know something you don't? The public sector is stuffed full of fantastic charity jobs, volunteering jobs and environmental positions, and is a great way to start off your ethical career. If you need more proof, just take a look at the Public Service Career Information Report, courtesy of Iceni Productions. The study asked people from all kinds of public sector careers how they felt about their jobs, in terms of career progression, training, pay and much more. The results bust the myths that have surrounded the sector for so long. There is no career progression Half the respondents said that they had an opportunity for promotion at the time of the research, whilst 90% said they had plenty of opportunity to gain valuable training, which in turn can aid career progression. The public sector is no place to make money Six out of ten public sector employees considered themselves well-paid, which, in the current economic climate, is reasonable. An impressive 89%, however, said that they were provided with great benefits such as a generous pension from their employers, boosting their economic situation. Public sector employees are hidden away in "ivory towers" of authorities Maybe a few are, but if daily contact with clients, customers and partners is what makes your day, take note; 86% of respondents said that they have regular interaction with a range of people other than their colleagues. The public sector is all bureaucracy and no fun stuff Public sector work is infamous for its alleged obsession with red tape, and that can put off job seekers who fear they will be bogged down with administrative paperwork and no enjoyable work. The survey shows, however, that 75% of respondents said their job involved making important decisions, whilst even more (79%) said that their job allowed them room to be creative and express ideas. Public sector work feels pointless, repetitive, and unfulfilling Apparently, not so! Over 80% of the respondents said that their work was varied enough to keep them interested, that they had great job satisfaction, and that one of the main attractions of the job was that they felt they were contributing something worthwhile to society.
Almost all of the respondents said they would recommend working in the public sector, in any of its many areas, and with credentials like these, who wouldn't? If you would like a charity career or maybe want to turn your hand to a volunteering job, but are apprehensive of the public sector; don't be. It seems to be the new place to build a great career.
Go to www.salesrecruitmentjobsite.com for all sales opportunities
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