Somerset County Council has been awarded the maximum four-star grading as an Excellent Council by the Audit Commission, and we are proud to be one of the very best councils nationwide.

Our Graduate Development Scheme (GDS) provides challenging and diverse opportunities for talented graduates who are able to make a difference to the services we provide. The GDS offers graduates an exceptional opportunity to attain a management position in the public sector. It is a chance to develop a range of skills and experience designed to equip you to become the Council’s leaders of the future. As a graduate with the Council, you will be a vital part of making our mission happen.

We are always striving for even greater success by improving the services that we provide. As part of this strategy our latest innovation is our joint-venture company, Southwest One. Launched in December 2007, along with Taunton Deane Borough Council and Avon and Somerset Constabulary, we have formed this joint venture with IBM to transform the quality of our services and the way in which our customers can access them.

Facts and figures

Somerset County Council has an overall budget of £819m to deliver our services to the public. To put these services in to context, we:

• look after a population of over 515,500
• educate over 70,000 pupils in 283 schools
• look after around 390 children who are in our care
• support over 1,000 adults with learning difficulties to live independently
• maintain over 6,500km of roads (equivalent of a straight line from Taunton to Alaska) as well as verges, pavements, 2,000 bridges and almost 50,000 street lights
• deal with around 300,000 tonnes of domestic waste each year
• conduct 75,000 tests on food, water, asbestos and air samples to ensure our safe environment
• operate 17 dual-use leisure clubs, which provide support to nationally and internationally ranked clubs and individuals in seven sports, including fencing and rowing
• look after 140 square miles of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• host a stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race.

To do all this, we employ more than 17,000 staff in over 550 offices, schools, residential units, libraries, etc, and work with 140 partners and groups to ensure that our services are delivered effectively.

Your development and progression

As public-sector leaders in innovation, we believe that our Scheme offers benefits that are hard to match in any other public-sector graduate programme. We offer you the opportunity to develop skills and obtain experience to prepare you to become a future manager. Common training and development activities, including induction arrangements and the achievement of a postgraduate qualification, will support this workplace development.

The Council operates a grading system for all positions. Entry level for the Graduate Development Scheme is at Grade 12 with a clear development path that sees graduates progress to a substantive Grade 10 post following successful completion of the scheme.

Benefits and rewards

The starting salary is £18,907* per annum. The standard package will see your salary increase at six-monthly intervals, subject to satisfactory completion of the probationary period, regular performance reviews through the appraisal process and progression with the postgraduate qualification.

After successful completion of the three-year programme, you will attain a substantive Grade 11 post with a salary of £25,320* per annum.

Other benefits include:

• 25 days’ annual leave each year, two extra statutory days and eight public holidays
• nationally negotiated annual cost-of-living salary increases
• eligibility to join the Local Government Pension Scheme which, on retirement, provides an index-linked pension and lump sum
• flexible working hours, where agreed by line managers
• childcare voucher scheme
• maternity and paternity leave
• access to employee-support services and groups (Black and Minority Ethnic Employee Network; Network of Employees With Disabilities; 4U, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-gendered Employee Network; and Carers Support Network)
• preferential gym membership
• staff discount scheme.

How to apply

Somerset County Council only accepts applications during live recruitment drives, which occur during late winter/early spring and potentially late autumn, depending on business demand and vacancies.

Once recruitment is open, you can download an application form at www.somerset.gov.uk/gds.

Applicants shortlisted for initial interview will be invited to attend an assessment centre. Successful candidates will then be invited to return for an additional formal interview with prospective line managers. These two days will not run consecutively.

Contact us

For further information on the scheme please visit www.somerset.gov.uk/gds, or to talk through any queries you may have, please contact Ruth Shivas on Rshivas@Somerset.gov.uk or 01823 355474.