Local Employment Co-ordination
— Opportunities for Action
2. Catalysing effective local action on employment

What you can achieve :

• The establishment and maintenance of Local Employment Co-ordination (LEC) groups which will be considered to be your local ‘powerhouse’ of effective action on employment issues.

• Improved stakeholder involvement in your planning, resourcing and monitoring processes.

• Key local people, and organisations becoming better informed and wiser about employment issues.

• The creation of a high trust and supportive environment in which groups can brainstorm ideas and discuss options from different points of view.

• The enhancement of work practices, information flows and communications between participating groups.

• A decrease in "holding back", "patch protection", or "power games" within the participating groups.

• The creation of joint-ventures between local organisations, which capitalise on opportunities for service improvements, client access and job creation possibilities.

• A reduction in the wastage of public resources available for employment action.

• A monitoring and accountability process for local employment action.

What you can do :

Establish or maintain Local Employment Co-ordination (LEC) groups in your region.

  • Evaluate the variety of groups that do exist now and build upon the experience and ‘best practice’ they have developed in recent years.
  • Create and maintain a strategic plan for collaborative action.

Attract the most effective local participation in the LEC process.

  • Define a preferred list of key players.
  • Obtain commitment from the senior management of key participating organisations.
  • Ensure that a commitment to the LEC process is expressed in organisation’s business plans.

Create and maintain a local employment profile for your region.

  • Develop an employment profile through a public consultation and research process.
  • Make the profile available to the general public through your internet website.

Develop a strategy to promote awareness of the local services that are available now.

  • Create and maintain up-to-date agency profiles, and joint-agency information packs.
  • Encourage exchange visits between participating groups.
  • Develop "roadshows" which can take this information to the people in your region, or create a database of co-ordinated services that can be accessed through your internet website.

Develop a strategy to distribute information on employment-related issues.

  • Distribute labour market information to LEC group members.
  • Facilitate sector group and business forums.

Reduce the wastage of local resources for employment action.

  • Take an independent audit of the government resources coming into your region to support employment action.
  • Share information frankly on what worked and what didn’t.
  • Develop and promote "best practice" strategies.
  • Take leadership in inter-agency business planning.

Broker joint-ventures between the LEC group members.

  • Draw on the "best practice" examples of joint-ventures that have happened in similar groups around New Zealand.

"Walk the talk" in being a role model of co-ordination, collaboration and co-operation.

  • Create a high-trust environment within your LEC groups that is catalytic and motivating.
  • Provide or support professional training in the skills of facilitation and co-operative action.
  • Recruit co-ordinators with the appropriate skills for the job.
  • Create a buddy-system between LEC co-ordinators which can provide support, coaching and mentoring in developing these skills.


Next: 3. Improving services to unemployed people and beneficiaries