Posts Tagged public sector

Brit bags best public sector job in the world

May 15, 2009 at 9:21 am · Filed under General Jobs ·Tagged , , , ,

In what must be the greatest coup of any job-seeker ever, British charity worker Ben Southall has nabbed what really must be the best ever job.

34 year old Southall, who previously worked as a charity fundraiser, is now under the employ of the Australian tourism authorities. His role? To live for six months on the dazzling Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for a six-figure salary. That’s it.

In a bid to boost tourism to the Queensland location, the Australian tourism authorities launched the campaign to find candidates for the best job in the world, and were inundated with 34,000 applications, unsurprisingly. Tourism Queensland spokesman Anthony Hayes said that the recruitment campaign itself had generated unheard of free publicity:

“The answer when things are going tough is you can complain about it or you can be more creative and more aggressive and try and get more people to come.

“The whole idea of this promotion is to find the perfect person to help us sell Queensland but to tell the rest of the world we really are open for business.”

Southall’s duties on the island are simple. He must feed the fish, keep the pool clean, and write a daily blog about the island’s attraction to tourists. Apart from that, the next six months are simply about enjoying himself.

The last thing that comes to mind when thinking about public sector jobs is relaxing on a beautiful island, but once again, myths have been busted. The public and charity sectors are riddled with surprisingly cool jobs. Want to care for pandas for a living? Travel the world? Preserve the oceans for dolphins? Oraganise international events? These are all things that come with ethical jobs, so get searching on JuicyJobs.biz.

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Will the public sector girls take over in the credit crunch?

March 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm · Filed under ethical jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

It has been widely reported that women are the worst sufferers of the credit crunch job cuts. This is because in this recession, rather than industrial lay-offs, it is retail that is shedding layers of its workforce, and retail primarily employs women. Women working in ethical jobs in the public sector, however, look set to actually improve their position as the economic slowdown takes its toll.

The government has injected more money into the public sector in order to stimulate the economy, and if the current employment patterns are anything to go by, that means more jobs for women. Currently, the public sector is increasing its female workforce, with 60% of new doctors and 58% of recruits to civil service fast track schemes being female. So, more public sector jobs, following this pattern, could mean more women advancing in the public sector than men.

The other factor to take into account too is the rise in male unemployment. Though women working in wage labour are suffering, when it comes to the professional ranks, more men are being made redundant. This is because men in general command greater salaries – something women still haven’t been able to equalise – and so save companies more money by leaving. To place those job losses in a domestic context, if more male partners are being forced out of their jobs, more female partners will simply have to take up work, more work, or better paid work.

Within the public sector, and in particular civil service, men still hold the greater majority of high paid executive positions, but even some of these men face redundancies. When the recession begins to abate and those positions become available again, will a fairer share of women take them up and finally balance out the very top of the public sector workplace? This remains to be seen. One thing is certain; women in professional vocations could do very well out of the recession if they play it right.

Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs; Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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Public sector pay rises in recession

March 26, 2009 at 6:57 pm · Filed under ethical jobs ·Tagged , , , ,

The Guardian reported this week that whilst the average private sector worker’s wages have fallen by £16 per week, the first fall in eight years, the public sector worker fares much better.

Public sector wages have in fact risen by £14 per week on average. There is bound to be a backlash soon, but before opinion pieces and blogs begin the usual complaining about jobsworths and lazy council workers, let’s look at the people working in those ethical jobs within the public sector.

Nurses are one group who have benefited from public sector wage increases. The role of nurses has long been underplayed in the UK, and wages for them, considering the unpleasant, antisocial and emotionally demanding nature of their work, have often been forgotten. Essentially, the wage increase for nurses is long overdue, and, as the pressure grows to care for more and more people as public health declines and less people are able to afford private care, it will not be long until the NHS needs further rejuvenation to cope with demand.

Then there are teachers, another group often vilified by the press for having the audacity to have a six week summer holiday and still demand a decent wage. The fact is, the education sector is crying out for qualified teachers, and without reasonable pay scales – there is little chance for teachers to progress in their careers without moving into private education or becoming a headteacher – it’s no wonder. Better pay for teachers doesn’t just benefit those teaching now, either. Making teaching more attractive will bring in more talented and better qualified teachers in the next generation, meaning better education for our children. In traditional Chinese culture, teaching is regarded as one of the most important professions, and it’s time we had a similar attitude here.

Critics of the public sector will argue that the gap between public and private sector workers is widening, creating two separate societies. They go on to say that it is irresponsible to pay public sector workers more as private sector workers suffer. This is nonsensical. If public sector workers are paid less, private sector workers will not be paid more. Organisations in the private sector will not simply decide to even the playing field at their own expense. Equally, if public sector workers are paid less, or there are more job cuts, the sector will be less able to deliver the services that, due to the credit crunch, more and more people are relying on for care and financial assistance.

Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs; Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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Busting the myths around public sector workers

March 4, 2009 at 5:22 pm · Filed under ethical jobs ·Tagged , , , , ,

One of the easiest forms of journalism is the ranting editorial piece. I have a love-hate relationship with these. Whilst they are infuriating, once you get past the reams of blurred judgement and reactionism, they can be quite entertaining, I suppose. Which is lucky, because I’m about to start one right now, but from a different perspective to the norm.

One of the favourite targets of these rants is the public sector. I wonder how many people with a real desire to start an ethical career in a public sector job are put off by endless complaining about council tax, “lazy” council workers and bureaucracy. Often, these articles pick up on extreme cases, are liberal with the truth, have no sense of perspective, and are just downright lazy writing. It seems to me that the public sector needs to fight back against this bile with more bite, rather than publishing half-hearted press releases about progress every now and again.

It’s time to bust some myths about the public sector and local authorities, which deter talented people from applying for great ethical jobs within the sector because they don’t want to be tarred with the same brush. Here are a selection of favourite headlines about local authorities, and what is really being said:

What it says: “Local council spends xx on awards ceremony with taxpayers’ money.

What it really means: “I’ve never seen so much money in my life! That must be at least, oh, half of everyone’s yearly council tax, surely?”

Well, no, not really. Stories about local councils spending, say, a thousand pounds or so on an event, training, awards for employees or grants are always coupled with the ignorance of just how much things cost. Two things need to be tackled here. First, that perhaps, those events are good things that need to happen. Second, that most people have no idea just how much money their local authority controls. A few thousand pounds on training for staff? That’s normally around 1% of the money poured back into local services by the council; we’re talking millions and millions here!

What it says: “Lazy council worker caught having acrobatic sexual intercourse whilst on sick leave in a bath full of champagne in front of council chief executive’s desk.”

What it means: Someone, somewhere, did something unprofessional at some point, whilst being employed in the public sector.

Given that, at last count, around 12,000,000 people in the UK were employed by the public sector (that’s 20% of the total working population), it’s simply a matter of probability that someone in local authority will do something unprofessional, wasteful, stupid or irresponsible at some point. Stupid and irresponsible actions at work are hardly restricted to local authorities either; career in banking, anyone?

What it says: “Where does our money go?”

What it means: “No, really, tell me. I don’t actually know exactly what local government does for me, and therefore, I am eternally ungrateful.”

This can best be answered with a list: clearing, maintaining and improving roads; developing learning facilities; waste disposal; emergency services; services for the disabled, the elderly, the disenfranchised, the poor, and the generally-dissatisfied; public events; attracting and managing tourism, retail, and business; monitoring community cohesion between various gender, age and ethnic groups; tackling crime; education; building and planning; transport… and plenty of things even I have forgotten. Yes, sometimes, council tax seems like a burden. But if you’d prefer to live in a place where you don’t pay any, or where you pay it and receive nothing, you had better be ready to do all of these things for yourself.

It wouldn’t do if the actions of local authorities and other public sector bodies went without scrutiny from the press, but slamming them for everything they do just makes everyone reluctant to work for or even cooperate with them. It’s time to really look into what your local authority is up to, and defend it against the angry little people who don’t understand it.

Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs;  Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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Public sector jobs increase as redundancies sweep private sector

January 8, 2009 at 4:38 pm · Filed under green jobs ·Tagged , , , ,

As the global financial crisis wears on, news stories reporting waves of redundancy are becoming a daily occurrence. Searching for new jobs is becoming more difficult by the day.

Figures released by recruitment giant Hays on the fourth quarter of 2008 reveal that, although the job market is becoming increasingly competitive with the increase in unemployment, the public sector actually increased its employees during Q4.

Whilst Hays experienced a 22% decrease in general revenue from UK recruitment in Q4, revenue from public sector recruitment grew by 10%, GuardianUnlimited reports.

The government became the UK’s largest advertiser for the first time since 2001, recruiting for the healthcare, education and social housing areas.

Meanwhile, the perceived relative safety of public sector jobs is becoming a more influential factor in the career choices of graduates.

Warwick university careers staff have reported a drop in the number of students attending its City and Finance careers events, and say that many students are looking to public sector careers instead for stability.

As has been said on JuicyJobs.biz before, the public sector has many advantages for anyone looking for a more ethical career. The stability is well-known, but the pay, training, pensions and opportunities for career progression are often better than jobs in the private sector.

The added impetus of doing a job that gives back to society is also important.

With more and more students turned off from the financial sector, particularly in the current economic climate, the public sector can only benefit from a more competitive recruitment pool.

If you are looking for an ethical career, in healthcare, housing, education, the emergency services, or environmental services, the public sector is for you. Check JuicyJobs.biz for great public sector job opportunities, and stay abreast of all the sector news here!

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