Impact Graduate Scheme (Local Government Graduate Programme)
Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme is the Local Government Association's two-year graduate management scheme in councils, formerly the National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP). The minimum salary is £33,673. Stage 1 is an application form and a situational judgement test (SJT), open for Cohort 29 from 7 October 2026 until 12.00 midday on Wednesday 6 January 2027. The SJT presents 24 realistic council scenarios. Each of the programme's eight key skills and behaviours is measured three times. For each scenario, candidates give an effectiveness rating to every response option. The test is untimed and takes around an hour on average. Candidates can take a break after answering a question and log back in until the deadline. Later stages are a video interview (from January 2027), a half-day virtual assessment centre (February to March 2027) and council interviews (May to June 2027). The Finance Stream adds a numeracy test. The LGA pages read on 10 November 2026 give no pass mark and no number of places.
Guides
Explore resources
Impact Graduate Scheme Video Interview: Format and Practice Prompts
What the LGA says about the Stage 2 video interview for Cohort 29, which key skills it looks for, ten original practice prompts, a 60-second answer structure and two worked answers.
Impact Graduate Scheme 2027: Application Process, Stages and Dates
Every stage of the Cohort 29 round with the LGA's own dates, from the situational judgement test to council interviews, plus the salary, who can apply and how many apply.
NGDP Situational Judgement Test Practice (Now the Impact SJT)
The NGDP is now Impact, and its SJT application page asks you to rate every response, not pick the most and least of three. Both formats side by side, one worked example each.
Impact Graduate Scheme situational judgement test
Stage 1 of the Impact programme: 24 council scenarios, every response rated from Effective to Counterproductive, untimed. What the test asks, how to approach each rating, and the 6 Jan 2027 deadline.
Impact Graduate Scheme Key Skills: The 8 Skills the SJT Scores
The 8 key skills and behaviours in the LGA's current wording: what each means, what effective and counterproductive look like in a council, and how the SJT measures each three times.
Leave with a plan for today.
- 21 min
Study: Situational judgement
- 6 min
Review what you missed. Write down the reason behind each correction.
- 3 min
Close your notes and recall the main ideas in your own words.
A personal study plan, saved only in this browser.