Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom, composed of a Cabinet of ministers chosen by the prime minister, as well as the devolved administrations in Wales (the Welsh Assembly Government) and Scotland (the Scottish Government).
The executive decisions of government ministers are implemented by Her Majesty's Civil Service. Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not Parliament. Civil servants also have some traditional and statutory responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power. Senior civil servants may be called to account to Parliament. As of 2007, there are approximately 532,000 (499,000 full-time equivalent) civil servants in the Home Civil Service.
The Civil Service Graduate Scheme
The Civil Service Fast Stream is a Talent Management programme for graduates who have the potential to become the future leaders of the Civil Service. It is ranked among the top five Times Top 100 Graduate Employers. One of the reasons for the Fast Stream's popularity is that it enables graduates to have real impact on life in the UK and, often, the wider world. As a Fast Streamer you will:
- Bring innovative solutions to some of the biggest issues facing society today
- Work at the heart of current affairs and key government agendas
- Engage directly with the public, helping to provide high-quality services for people from diverse communities and backgrounds
Many departments also offer secondment opportunities, which you'll be actively encouraged to take. So you may spend time working in another government department, the wider public sector, Europe or, even, business or industry.
What you need:
The Civil Service require a minimum of a 2:2 in any degree discipline from graduate applicants. Generally you must also be a UK or EU National. The Civil Service look for particular competencies from graduate applicants. Graduates must be: results oriented; decisive; good at relationship building; good at making an impact; professional and have flexible thinking. Experience living/working in a developing country, multiple language skills and specific international economic knowledge would be useful for applicants to have.
