Working in the Public Sector
The public sector comprises of many different bodies and organisations including central government, local government, Health, Education, Fire and Police. Their purpose is to provide government services to the public.
Public services include:
• crime, justice and the law
• education and learning
• employment
• environment and greener living
• health and well-being
• home and community
• money, tax and benefits
• motoring
• rights and responsibilities
• travel and transport
The numerous public sector organisations are increasingly working together to provide collaborative services to meet the needs of the ever-changing population.
Central Government
The employees of Central Government are politically impartial civil servants. Their role is to advise Ministers (who head the numerous government departments) and other agencies, to implement government policies. The civil servants often work with local authorities, non-departmental public bodies and other government-sponsored organisations.
Local Government
The purpose of Local Government is to ensure that services to their regions are provided within government policies and legislation (known as Acts of Parliament). Many Acts of Parliament are mandatory and, therefore, the authority must do what is required by law. However, others are discretionary, therefore, allowing each Local Authority to determine whether or not to provide that service, often dependent on the needs of their local communities.
Central government and local authorities are linked by various departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions, or the Department of Health.
For further information on the above, and other public sector organisations, visit www.direct.gov.uk
Benefits of working in the public sector
There are numerous benefits which can be found from serving the general public. Every job, whether it is working directly with people out in the community (e.g. a support worker for an elderly person) or office based (e.g. processing an incident report which may lead to the conviction of a criminal) are contributing to the support and improvement of people's lives. When witnessing the way in which people's lives can be improved by public sector organisations, it makes it a very rewarding sector within which to work.
Every job, whether it is working directly with people out in the community (e.g. a support worker for an elderly person) or office based (e.g. processing an incident report which may lead to the conviction of a criminal) are contributing to the support and improvement of people's lives. When witnessing the way in which people's lives can be improved by public sector organisations, it makes it a very rewarding sector within which to work.