Over the last 18 months or so I’ve been updating you about the activities of the staff engagement group. The group’s purpose is for me and staff from across the council to discuss what’s happening in your areas. It’s about having a two-way flow of information that’s informal and complements other discussions. It allows me to get first-hand views from a group of staff and also gain an insight into the organisation’s temperature. It was introduced as one of my appraisal objectives to improve cross-council communication and has proved very successful to date.
Yesterday, we caught up to review what’s been achieved so far, look at the year ahead and consider how the group is structured for the future. We also discussed issues ranging from our updated management of absence policy to how the group can help us improve off-line internal communication, the manager brief and promoting our reward and recognition scheme. I want to thank everyone who gives their time and insight to the group – it’s having a real impact. There are some gaps in membership from some services, so we are seeking to address this in the future. If you think your area needs representation on the staff engagement group, please check with your manager or get in touch with me direct.
CMT on Wednesday considered the innovative new ways we are taking to recruit and retain staff, especially hard-to-fill roles. It’s part of our workforce transformation plan that we want to be an employer of choice. And we were taken through what that means in practice in terms of developing our existing staff, encouraging skills development, the Social Services Academy, graduate recruitment, traineeships and apprenticeships. We also discussed the wider job and training opportunities that council teams across the Council facilitate to assist people back into employment. My thanks to Rachael Davies, Rachel Healion and Elliott Williams for their presentation. If you want to further develop your career with us – or know someone who does – please speak to your manager now or during your appraisal.
On a similar note, CMT also heard from Rhodri Jones, head of Education’s Achievement and Partnership Service, about our Swansea Pledge. It’s a pledge that connects our education team, schools and businesses to help develop post-school support for school leavers, including work experience opportunities and routes to local employment. There’s also a commitment towards ensuring that local businesses can help us ensure that what pupils learn in school will be useful to them in the world of work. It’s part of our commitment through the corporate plan to the young people of our city that they have opportunities to take advantage of the jobs being created by our work in economic regeneration.
Our appointments committee have in the last couple of weeks made two important appointments to our leadership team. I’d like to congratulate Lucy Moore on her appointment as Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer. Lucy will be replacing Deb Smith in her role when she retires later this year. Also, congratulations to Heather Young, who will be taking over from Julian Morgans as head of revenues and benefits when he retires. These are two crucial leadership roles to ensure the smooth management of the council. I’m delighted that on these occasions, there was good succession planning in place, allowing internal candidates to compete and ultimately secure the roles. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Lucy and Heather well in their new roles.
I’m also pleased to report progress on the new special school which will see the merger of Ysgol Crug Glas and Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn from September with a new £40m state-of-the-art home to come in 2028. Transitions of this kind are extremely challenging, with lots of sensitive issues that need careful management. My thanks to Jeff Fish, our Stakeholder and School Support Manager, and the education teams involved in this project for their commitment.
It’s time to say farewell to our property maintenance team’s Senior Project Surveyor, Rob Perkins, who is retiring after 35 years’ service. Rob started out with us as a painter and decorator, so he’s a really good example of how we like to invest in the potential of our staff so they can make the most of their talent. Good luck to you for the future, Rob.
A big thank-you in advance to our special events, highways, cleansing and all the other teams for their support in this weekend’s Tunes on the Bay. It’s not a council event, but it’s Swansea’s first-ever beach festival and would not be possible without the effort put in by our teams. It’s yet another example of our growing reputation as a destination of choice for major events and should be great for businesses too.
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