North Devon Council wants to boost its job application numbers

The council said half of its employees were over the age of 50, and that very few people responded to job adverts

A Devon council wants to boost applications to join its workforce.

North Devon Council said half its employees were over the age of 50, and that very few people responded to job adverts.

Last year, almost £900,000 of the authority's £17m employment budget was spent on agency workers.

The council hopes to drive applicant numbers through apprenticeships, school and university visits, and advertising on social media.

'The biggest challenge'

The body's governance committee was told that there had been one application for a service lead role, one internal application for a senior planning officer and no applications for a planning officer job, despite them being advertised on multiple online sites through the summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported.

The jobs were in the £30,000 to £45,000 pay bracket but people could earn more in similar roles in the private sector, members heard.

Ken Miles, chief executive of North Devon Council, said "recruitment and retention is the biggest challenge for local authorities at the moment".

"We are competing against each other and against the private sector. Planning officers, accountants and solicitors can earn more in the private sector.

"We need to get staff who have that public service ethos, who want to serve their community."

He said the council would be going to schools, colleges and universities to promote working in local government, as well as using more social media and other channels to advertise posts.

The council is about to advertise 10 position which it hopes to fill to reduce its reliance on agency workers.