Preparing for elected office in Scottish local government
Introduction
What will you gain from being a councillor?
The knowledge and skills that councillors gain from carrying out their duties can benefit them in many other aspects of life and work. If elected, you will meet a wide range of people from different backgrounds and with different world views than your own. Learning to work effectively with people whom you do not always agree with builds strong interpersonal skills.
You can develop greater competence and confidence in various communications skills by listening carefully, speaking in public and explaining complex issues to the public. The role would also strengthen your problem‑solving and critical‑thinking skills, as councillors weigh evidence, balance competing priorities and make decisions that affect people’s lives. You would gain experience in teamwork, partnership‑building and constructive challenge.
The role requires resilience, and being able to balance the competing demands on your time is a great life skill to have. Overall, serving as a councillor offers practical leadership experience that can be transferred into many careers and other areas of life.
Don’t let feelings of not being confident or being worried about not being good enough get in the way. You can learn and develop on the job. The most important thing is to be motivated, committed and hungry to change. You have to have that feeling of wanting to do something and help people.
Activity: Before you begin
Use the space below to reflect on what you know about the role of a councillor. If you chose to stand and were successfully elected to a council, what would that mean for your life?
If you prefer, you can use a Learning Journal [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] to collect your thoughts together in one place as you complete these reflective activities. You will then have a resource that you can draw on in the future to help shape your career as a councillor. For any activity that asks for you to note something down, there is a corresponding area for your answer in the Learning Journal. Using it is optional: if you prefer, you can note your responses down in the spaces below, or in a separate document, or on paper.
