In 2008 Hampshire County Council (HCC) won this competition, and Jessica Brown and Shona Rhodes from HCC Property Services were highly commended at the 2017 competition.
On 21-23 February 2018, Property Services will again be sending a team to represent HCC. Rachel Gelormini and Bethany Tanton both joined the department through its Generalist Graduate Scheme. Rachel is placed within the Business and Operations team as part of her placement and Bethany is now working as a Service Development Officer in Adults’ Services.
When asked why they have entered the competition, they explained it will “push us outside of our comfort zone giving us an opportunity to develop some new skills and make new connections. It’s always good to do something that scares you once in a while!”
Competing against 37 other teams, each team present an argument paper on a subject of their choice of current interest. Rachel and Bethany have chosen to speak about the “Value of Volunteering”. For the more informal “On the Spot” session, where each team asks itself a question and answers it within two minutes they have chosen “When do you become an adult?”
Their advice to anyone wishing to take part in a future Young Local Authority of the Year is “to present a topic that you’re both passionate about; enthusiasm and personal experience go a long way. That’s why we’ve decided to talk about volunteering and what it means to us”.
Established in 2006, the annual Young Local Authority of the Year competition is part of the Young Programme which aims to develop communication skills, build confidence and broaden the horizons of people in their formative early years of their working lives. To date, approximately 3,000 delegates have participated in the programme. Further information about the Young Local Authority of the Year competition and the Young programme.