The day training sessions were delivered in a face-to-face fashion, on-site at LCC. These included Upskilled trainers presenting, as well as mentoring participants, as they prepared for their presentations. The first day culminated in participants giving their final presentations, allowing them to demonstrate the skills they had learned.

The second session of training focused on leaders in industry and government and covered topics such as what “innovation” means to LCC employees, and how the internal team could integrate new ways of doing things more effectively and efficiently in their workplace; the sessions were about connecting where their future would be with LCC and tying this in with what the team members were doing on a day-to-day level; working on thinking creatively and collaboratively about innovation concepts.

The training Upskilled delivered was Nationally Recognised, meaning employees received a Statement of Attainment for the Units of Competency they successfully completed.

LCC were also able to access the NSW Local Government’s Skills Strategy program which meant the training was fully funded.

The key takeaway for LCC was that the only “constant” for business (and for local city councils) is change. Keeping up with context, stakeholder needs, and technology as it shapes and changes Australia is something LCC will focus on.

This will be achieved through creative thinking, innovative practice, and being able to reinforce what team members are trying to get across to their stakeholders. This supports the value of continuous improvement LCC knows that investing in staff development is the way they will move forward with credibility.

For example, one of Council’s aims is to meet the needs of their existing rate payers, alongside a focus on the partnerships they are forming in order to deliver these new projects, like the Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek and Smart Cities.

The sessions sparked great communication and cross department collaboration; especially as the participants discussed the projects they were currently working on. LCC has developed ideas around technology, big data, and the smart cities projects that the State and Federal Governments are focusing on. For example, NSW’s future plans for “driverless trains”, as a discussion point.

Upskilled was able to tailor training examples to their needs, for example, discussing an existing media interview with LCC’s CEO, as well as projects on their public website. These were used as the basis for some assessments. Many participants were able to come away with some strategies and processes for their own departments to move forward.

LCC’s CEO is primed for growth and change. Part of this training was to bring the LLC’s heads, and key players together to work more collaboratively. This was one of the main takeaways for the Council.

LCC was preparing their Leadership team to deliver at their annual conference. The Upskilled training sessions have enabled them to raise the level of engagement and collaboration for this event.