For nearly 40 years, LGIU has been responding to the training needs of local government. We recently transitioned our seminars and courses online and our range of topics and attendance continues to grow.
Very often, local authorities come to us because they need bespoke, in-house training for a number of their councillors or officers. These sessions are even more effective as they get to the heart of the needs of each individual organisation and equip attendees in practical, applicable ways.
Get in touch to discuss any aspect of our in-house training and how we can meet your requirements. Contact the LGIU’s Training Coordinator: Barry O’Brien: barry.obrien@lgiu.org or +44 7748 116357.
Curriculum
LGIU has an extensive in-house training curriculum. Our most popular sessions are listed below. You can mix and match all of the elements and modules from the menu below. They can then be further tailored to your council’s specific needs.
Training for new councillors
We offer a number of training options that are suitable for helping newly elected members settle into their role and get to grips with the workload, including:
An introduction to overview and scrutiny
Time management
Speed reading and memory skills
Chairing in-person, online and hybrid
Mentoring skills
Managing casework
Understanding GDPR as a councillor
Working effectively with officers and partners
Making a difference as a new councillor
We also provide training for officers who engage with elected members:
Designing training for elected members
Developing political awareness
Skills for effective councillors
This programme has been developed for councillors who want to develop advanced interpersonal skills to help them achieve more positive outcomes when working with people. Each module can be delivered separately or combined into a complete learning programme.
Advanced communication skills
The persuasive councillor
Conflict resolution and mediation
Leadership of place – community engagement
We can also work with you to provide a tailored package of training for new councillors after an election.
Personal development
Our extensive selection of courses can be combined as you need to assist with skills development for councillors as well as officers. These include:
Chairing skills for virtual meetings
Advanced chairing: managing participation at meetings
Participating in virtual meetings
Report writing
Minuting virtual meetings
Memory skills and mind mapping
Speed reading and retention
Time management
Supporting committee chairs
Reviewing committee reports
Psychometric testing
Carrying out Investigations
Local government finance
Our finance training is designed to provide councillors with a thorough grounding in the key elements of local government finance and funding. We break it down into four modules which can be booked individually or as a complete programme and can be tailored to reflect your council’s circumstances.
Local government finance basics
Understanding your council’s annual financial statements
Understanding your council’s MTFS, annual budget and budget monitoring reports
Financial planning and budgeting
Organisational and manager development
Local authorities evolve and change in terms of structure, culture and services and the pandemic has had an impact on the speed and direction of this change. Managers also need to be able to develop their skills in light of the changes organizationally. Our courses include:
Beyond the pandemic – a new type of culture for a new type of authority
Developing a commercially aware organisational culture
Management development:
Managing home working: achieving the balance between wellbeing and performance
Recruiting effectively online
Practical project management
Presenting with impact online
Management fundamentals
Understanding strategic thinking.
Personal safety and wellbeing
Learning in this area includes:
Personal safety for councillors
Managing conflict
Beyond conflict resolution
An introduction to transactional analysis
An introduction to mental health
Positive thinking
Developing personal assertiveness
Building confidence
Setting and maintaining professional boundaries
Developing political awareness and sensitivity: the key to working effectively with members
Working effectively with officers (for elected members)
Overview and scrutiny
Overview and scrutiny is an important part of a councillor’s role but to do it effectively takes skill and procedural knowledge. Our training includes:
An introduction to overview and scrutiny
Effective scrutiny
Questioning skills for scrutiny
Equalities
LGIU provides workshops relevant for senior managers and officers who want to develop their inclusive leadership practice and/or work in the area of equalities, as well as elected members who want to re-examine equality and diversity policies within their local authority and their leadership role within and outside the council.
Equality and inclusive leadership in local government
Disability equality training
Equality and diversity training
Social media
Social media has an ever increasing presence in our lives and is a vital channel for communication with our communities. Our training includes:
Introduction to using social media effectively
Planning and managing social media
Using images and video effectively
Our trainers
All our trainers – LGIU staff and associates – bring a wealth of local government experience to the table. They are here to develop and deliver a training programme for your council that achieves real impact and provides capacity building across your teams.
Dave Burn
Dave Burn is an independent consultant with over 35 years of local government experience, specialising in governance, member development, mentoring and member/officer relations and works with a variety of authorities and public bodies.
Keith Crampton
Keith Crampton is an experienced trainer, coach and facilitator specialising in Local Government but with experience in private sector organisations as well as charities. He brings an enthusiastic and engaging approach coupled with a focus on achieving real, actionable improvements.
Rachel Eden
Cllr Rachel Eden has been an elected member of a Unitary Authority since 2010, having served in a range of roles including the opposition, cabinet member, committee chair and is currently the Mayor.
Duncan Enright
Cllr Duncan Enright is an opposition leader in a District Council and former mayor of his home town. With over 35 years in the publishing industry, he has experience in governance issues and management in several sectors.
Ian Fifield
Ian Fifield, Ian is a CIPFA qualified accountant with over 20 years of experience in designing and delivering financial management training for local authorities and other public service organisations.
Liz Green
Cllr Liz Green has been a London borough councillor for nearly 20 years and works as a trainer, coach and mentor for elected members. She has held numerous council positions in both administration and opposition, including Council Leader, leader of the opposition, and environment lead member.
Ian Kirke
Cllr Ian Kirke LLB (Hons) is a former senior police officer, academic and elected member of Bracknell Forest Council. He is keen to engage with current and ex-offenders to better understand the best ways of eliminating bulk and violent crime within the workplace.
Nigel Long
Cllr Nigel Long has been disabled since the age of 17 and has been a councillor since 1987 and has served as leader of the council for a large unitary authority and cabinet member for social care, housing and finance.
Malcolm Powers
Malcolm Powers is a former councillor and cabinet member in a Unitary Authority. He has over fifteen years experience delivering training to local government members and community campaigners. He specialises in communications at all levels and stakeholder engagement.
Miranda Smythe
Miranda Smythe has 30 years of experience helping organisations (mainly local governments) identify learning gaps and develop tailored, creative strategies to address their goals. Miranda is also involved in local community development activities and provides mental health awareness sessions for many not-for-profit organisations.
Munira Thobani
Munira Thobani has worked in senior roles on leading and managing change in a number of London local authorities. Her expertise is in equalities, social care, governance, partnership and collaborative working, policy and strategy development, performance management and community engagement.
Delivery
In recent years, we have delivered all of our in-house sessions online and this will continue for the foreseeable future. We have given a lot of thought to the adaptation of our traditional training for the online environment and this is reflected in the positive feedback we have received from delegates attending recent trainings.
We can supply tailored courses for one local authority or a small number of neighbouring councils in one go. Our training means you can provide your members and officers with cost-effective, bespoke solutions for building skills, knowledge and personal effectiveness. And, LGIU member organisations enjoy a discount, too.
What others are saying about LGIU training
“I learnt a great deal during the session and feel much more confident to apply the new skills I’ve acquired. Thank you for running such an insightful and interactive training. I really enjoyed the time and will be recommending it to my colleagues.”
– Shireena, Waltham Forest
“I felt that the session was very informative, with lots of interesting tips on how to conduct interviews in order to get the necessary information required.”
– Oliver, Tamworth
“The lesson was extremely clear and was packed with good tips around scrutiny. I especially liked the group work — the whole session was interactive and it was helpful to be able to ask questions.”
– Keith, West Northamptonshire
“Thanks for a fantastic session on finance! We had an excellent trainer — they broke a dry subject down very effectively and I would be interested in even more trainings on finance in the future.”
– Alastair, Cardiff
“LGIU helped us to design a bespoke programme of custom sessions that were impactful on both a work and personal level. The trainers were really engaging, which really helped our Councillors take a lot from the sessions. Elected members received the training extremely well as the content was specifically tailored to their roles and responsibilities. The flexibility in training times also allowed us to hold sessions when more of our team could join.”
– Shannon, Dublin City Council
“Our trainer was friendly, warm, and professional – well done! The session was informative and would be a useful revision tool for Members to refer back to.”
– Weronika, Rochford District Council
LGIU's in-house training coordinator
Barry O’Brien has been coordinating LGIU’s extensive range of in-house training for officers and elected members across local government since 2001. He supports our sustainability brief across the LGIU group and administers the Local Government Flood Forum and FloodCitiSense, an EU-funded project.
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If your council/organisation is not a member of LGIU then please contact us to discuss a free trial so that you and all your colleagues can discover the value of LGIU membership. Email us on info@lgiu.org or call on 020 7554 2800.