Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme timeline

To apply for the programme you will need to fill in an application form and confirm that you meet our eligibility requirements, and complete a situational judgement test. This test uses real life scenarios from general management trainees, all working in a local government context. You will be given a short scenario and then three possible responses. You will be asked to select your most and least appropriate responses to the scenario.  

The test will take you through 24 different scenarios, measuring each of our key skills and behaviours three times over the test. It is not timed, but we anticipate that it will take you 30-45 minutes on average to complete. We suggest you complete the test when you have at least an hour to spare to avoid putting yourself under unnecessary pressure. If you want to pause the assessment, you will be able to do so after answering a question, before proceeding to the next question. You can log back in at any time as long as you complete the entire situational judgement test by the application deadline. 

You can read sample questions for the situational judgement test. 

For the Finance Stream, you will be expected to take a numeracy test in addition to the situational judgement test. 

From January 2026 

If you pass the situational judgement test, you will then be invited to complete a video interview. We anticipate it will take you 20-30 minutes to complete this assessment but again, we would recommend leaving yourself an hour to use the practice function and ensure all you are at ease with the platform before you begin. You will be asked three questions, one at a time, which relate to our key skills and behaviours. You are encouraged to draw on any relevant experiences and examples, as we do not expect you to have experience working in a related area.  

The assessment is timed, but you will get one chance to re-record each question if you are not satisfied with your first answer. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please get in touch with our team before you begin the video interview. We will not be able to provide extra time or other adjustments retrospectively.  

Professional assessors will mark the video interviews as audio files only, but our team will spot-check the video content to ensure that candidates are completing their interviews independently. We will also check the video of interviews where there have been technical difficulties or other issues. 

February – March 2026 

Every candidate who has passed the video interview stage will be invited to attend a half-day virtual assessment centre where you will complete three tasks. These will be a written task, a group discussion and a presentation. These exercises will be local government specific and have been designed based on the experiences of graduate management trainees. Across the exercises you will be assessed against the key skills and behaviours.  

You will be emailed instructions for how to access the assessment centre before you begin. Please enter the assessment centre at least 15 minutes in advance and check that your sound and video are working.   

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please get in touch with our team before your assessment centre takes place. We will not be able to provide extra time or other adjustments retrospectively.  

Getting to know councils 

April 2026

After the assessment centres, successful candidates will be asked for their preferences in terms of which councils they would like to work for. They will be given access to information about each participating council and some information sessions will be planned for candidates to attend. Whilst we try our best to take into account your preferences, not all candidates will get their first choice.

May – June 2026

All successful candidates will be invited to attend at least one interview although it could be more than one. Interviews will be allocated depending on candidates’ preferences and the availability of interview dates and spaces. 

The interviews will either take place online or in person, you’ll be able to find out whether they are online or virtual through the council information hub when selection your preferences.  

If you are successful at interview stage, you will receive an offer of employment from the council. Once you have accepted, you will become a member of Cohort 28 and your start date with the council will be arranged for autumn 2026. You will also need to complete pre-employment checks.