Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA)
This Level 3, foundation qualification provides you with a broad knowledge of all the aspects of a Clerk’s work – roles and responsibilities, the law, procedures, finance planning and community involvement. CiLCA is suitable for all officers working with local Councils. CiLCA is flexible enough to suit candidates from the diversity of local Councils. We recommend that you’re in post for a minimum of 9 months before starting this qualification.
What’s In It For Me?
CiLCA will demonstrate that you have the knowledge, confidence and skills to: inform your Council’s activities, its roles and responsibilities; advise on its duties and powers within the law; ensure its compliance with proper financial practices.
What’s In It For My Council?
CiLCA can help you to support your Council to: achieve standards of good practice and procedures; adapt to changing legislation; involve and engage with community; set out its budget and strategy accordingly
Furthermore, CiLCA qualifies you and your Council in England for the purposes of the Local Council Award Scheme (Quality and Quality Gold) and eligibility to use the General Power of Competence
How can the Council help?
As an employer, the Council should support you; it is advised to
Pay all costs: The investment is rewarded from the outset.
Manage your workload: Too many demands can hinder your achievement.
Provide and protect study time if your hours allow it: It is worth preventing delay.
Show an interest in your progress: This is encouraging and demonstrates support.
Listen to your advice: The aim is to improve the Council’s performance.
Steps to CiLCA
We strongly recommend that you are in post for a min of 12 months and have undertaken the Clerk Tool Kit courses prior to registration for CiLCA.
WALC's CiLCA course is made up of 5 sessions which run bimonthly and cover all CiLCA units. The total cost is £385.00 for the whole course, payable in advance of the course start date. Each year, we run one course starting in July and finishing in March the following year.
CiLCA Intake Dates
All prospective CiLCA candidates will be registered through the SLCC on the EMMA system in bi-monthly intakes. Candidates will have one year from the intake date to complete the CiLCA qualification. There are separate costs associated with registration on EMMA - please check with the SLCC for current prices.
WALC are sending huge congratulations to Ray Evans, Clerk to Beaudesert & Henley in Arden Joint Parish Council who recently passed the CiLCA qualification.
On passing Ray told us
"I know a lot of people took to writing a book during the lockdown. I spent mine sweating over thirty learning outcomes in order to qualify for CiLCA.
Massive congratulations to Helen Stewart who recently passed the CiLCA qualification.
Helen says
"It feels great to have finally finished and passed CILCA! It’s quite a challenging qualification at the best of times but even more so through a pandemic when the schools closed and we all had to adapt to very quickly.
Well done to Helen Eldridge, of Leek Wootton & Guys Cliffe Parish Council, on passing the CiLCA qualification.
Helen writes about her achievement here:
"I am so pleased and relieved to have achieved my CiLCA. To be honest, it has been a very big wall for me to climb, having struggled a lot with the format of the qualification and a combination of factors.
We are delighted to congratulate Odette Ghent, of Atherstone Town Council, on being awarded her Certificate in Local Council Administration, a notable achievement and an asset to her Council.
Odette tells us:
"It’s a huge relief and a massive weight off my shoulders. I always knew I was capable, but circumstances over the last 4 years delayed me doing it.