Impact Graduate Programme SJT and Assessment Centre Guide

Quiz Impact Local Government Graduate Programme SJT Practice Questions

Impact graduate programme: how to approach the selection stages

The Local Government Association’s Impact programme recruits graduate management trainees into local government. For the current campaign, the first stage combines an application, eligibility confirmation and a situational judgement test based on real-life local government scenarios. Candidates who progress then complete a video interview, a virtual assessment centre and council interviews. This guide explains the published stages and offers a practical way to practise judgement and communication without inventing an official answer key.

The current application stage

The LGA timeline gives the first-stage application window as 7 October 2026 to 12pm on 6 January 2027. Applicants complete an application form, confirm they meet the eligibility requirements and take the situational judgement test. The test uses general-management-trainee scenarios situated in local government. Candidates see a short scenario and three possible responses, then select the most and least appropriate options.

The LGA says the assessment contains 24 scenarios and measures each of its key skills and behaviours three times. It is not timed, and the organisation anticipates an average completion time of 30 to 45 minutes. Its guidance recommends allowing at least an hour, which gives candidates a buffer and helps avoid needless pressure. The test can be paused after answering a question, and applicants can log back in to complete it before the deadline. The Finance Stream also requires a numeracy test.

What the situational judgement test asks you to do

A situational judgement test is not simply a test of whether an action sounds confident. The task is to evaluate responses against the scenario and the capabilities the programme assesses. Read the full situation, note the people involved, the objective and any constraints, then compare the options. The official source presents local-government contexts, so candidates should think about public service, working with colleagues and communities, evidence-based decisions and the responsibilities described in the prompt.

Do not assume every scenario has an obvious perfect response. Some options may each contain a useful element but differ in timing, consultation, proportionality or ownership. Ask what the immediate issue is, what facts are known, who needs to be involved and which action best balances the competing needs in the scenario. Selecting the most and least appropriate responses requires comparison across all three options, not merely choosing one that sounds positive.

Practise the behaviours, not a memorised answer

The programme’s stages assess key skills and behaviours, and the LGA publishes competency descriptions. These include working effectively with others, communication, planning and organisation, analysis and interpretation, commitment to local government and communities, leadership potential, motivation for learning, resilience and professionalism. Use these descriptions to guide reflection, but do not treat them as a script. Candidates should be able to explain how a behaviour appeared in a real experience and what they learned from it.

For practice, take one scenario and write down the decision you would make, the evidence supporting it and the risk you would monitor. Then compare your reasoning with alternative actions. In a separate exercise, select a real example from study, work or volunteering and identify your own role. Focus on what you personally did, how you communicated and what changed as a result. This builds an evidence bank for later stages while keeping your responses grounded in actual experience.

Video interview stage

Candidates who pass the situational judgement test are invited to complete a video interview, expected from January 2027. The LGA describes three questions relating to key skills and behaviours. The process is timed, but candidates receive one chance to re-record each answer. The guidance suggests leaving an hour to use the practice function and become comfortable with the platform, although the interview itself is anticipated to take 20 to 30 minutes.

Prepare by practising concise spoken answers rather than memorising paragraphs. A useful structure is a brief context, your responsibility, the actions you took and the outcome or learning. Make the link between the example and the question explicit. Since applicants may draw on any relevant experience and are not expected to have worked in a related area, examples from transferable settings can still be useful if they genuinely demonstrate the behaviour being discussed. Test sound, camera and internet access in advance.

Virtual assessment centre

The LGA expects a half-day virtual assessment centre in February or March 2027 for candidates who pass the interview. It comprises a written task, group discussion and presentation. The exercises are local-government specific and designed around the experiences of graduate management trainees. Candidates are assessed across key skills and behaviours, and the LGA advises entering at least 15 minutes early to check audio and video.

For a written task, practise extracting the main issue from a short brief, organising evidence and presenting a clear recommendation. For group work, contribute constructively, listen to others and help the group keep sight of its objective; the aim is not to dominate. For a presentation, make the central point easy to follow and support it with relevant evidence. These are practical approaches to the published exercise types, not claims about the exact tasks candidates will receive.

Council interviews and programme matching

After the assessment centre, successful candidates receive information about participating councils and indicate preferences. The LGA says it tries to take preferences into account, but not every candidate will receive their first choice. Interviews are anticipated from May to June 2027, and candidates may have one or more interviews depending on allocation and available dates. They can be online or in person, with details provided through the council information hub.

This later stage calls for preparation that is specific to the council and role once those details are available. Review the organisation’s public priorities and the job information provided to you, then connect your own examples to the responsibilities without pretending to have local knowledge you lack. Think through why public service and local-government work interest you and how you would learn about a community’s needs. If successful, a council makes the employment offer and arranges the autumn 2027 start, subject to pre-employment checks.

A sensible preparation routine

Use short, repeatable practice sessions. Alternate between scenario questions, spoken examples, written recommendations and group-discussion skills. After each attempt, record one strength and one improvement point. Common problems include ignoring a constraint, jumping to a solution before understanding the facts, failing to explain personal contribution and treating collaboration as agreement with every suggestion. Reviewing these patterns helps make practice more useful than simply repeating questions.

Before submitting, verify eligibility and the deadline on the official LGA pages. The programme allows one application to Impact each year, and reasonable adjustments should be discussed before the relevant assessment begins because retrospective adjustments may not be possible. Practice can develop familiarity and clear reasoning, but it cannot guarantee a particular score, an interview or a council role. Use the official timeline for any updates to dates or instructions.