Public Services and Administration

If you care about social values and your community, want to make a real difference to society at a regional or national level, then a career in public services could be for you.

A career in public services means working in local or national government, health or social care, housing and public realm, refuse collection and recycling, education or law enforcement for example. Join any one of these services and you’ll be in good company. Over 5.6 million people already work in the public sector across the UK (that’s nearly a sixth of people in paid employment).

What’s more, there’s plenty of jobs in public services are available across Stockport and Greater Manchester, with good working conditions, salaries and benefits, plenty of opportunities for further training and professional development, often with opportunities to travel as part of your job too.

Featured Stockport Employer

Hear from Genia Rowbotham from the Revenue & Benefits Team at Stockport Council in Stockport town centre, sharing her career story about working in Public Services & Administration. Genia had never worked in an office before, but she saw the vacancy advertised on social media and applied. She really enjoyed her role and after 3 years, has been promoted to a Team Leader position. She’s now completing a Level 4 Apprenticeship (equivalent to a Foundation Degree) to help develop her skills and career prospects further.

Find out what it takes to get started in a career in public services and administration, what a typical day involves, the key skills required to succeed and what the best bits about Genia’s job are.

Labour Market Information

In recent times, all aspects of our public services have been integral to tackling the Covid pandemic. Most of us have a renewed appreciation and admiration for those working in public services performing essential services, whilst recognising their jobs are challenging, stressful and with a high degree of responsibility.

As a result, these are areas likely to be the source of future investment – particularly health, social care, crime and housing. Already a big source of jobs across the UK, public sector employers are expected to be amongst the largest recruiters of young people and graduates in the years to come.

Over the past few years, the perception of the government and public services has changed somewhat. They’ve shown themselves to be more agile, able to make decisions, adopt new technologies and innovate. There is also an increased trust in services like the police and the NHS, together with a sense of community spirit.

As the country starts to recover and rebuild, there will also be increased demand for investment in skills in areas such as the green economy, digital transformation and IT security.

Starting Salary

£11.44 per hour or £18,000
per annum

Typical Salary Range

£23,500 – £95,000+
per annum

Working Hours

37 to 39 hours per week, usually between 8am and 6pm

Working in Public Services and Administration

Public service jobs are incredibly broad ranging. Some are office-based, working standard Monday-Friday 9am-5pm hours. Others are based across the borough in parks and greenspaces, hospitals and clinics, housing complexes and construction sites, schools and colleges, shopping centres or cultural venues. These often involve working more flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.

Part-time opportunities, (as well as term-time only jobs), are common as are temporary, casual and fixed-term contracts.

Outside of roles directly delivering frontline services (like health and social care or education), there are a range of public services administration roles including: