One of the most popular methods of graduate entry into either the Home Civil Service or the Foreign Office is via the Fast Stream programme. Fast Stream is an accelerated training and development programme, specially designed to prepare individuals for senior managerial positions within their chosen department. Roughly 500 graduates join the programme each year to make rapid progress in a fulfilling career.

Applicants must choose between the Home Civil Service, including GCHQ and the Security Service, or the Diplomatic Service where they would work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After sitting a series of rigorous tests and assessments centres, those who are successful are then placed with one of the Civil Service’s central departments, short-listed in their initial application.Work in most of these departments will generally involve administrative and policy work, carrying out extensive research and analysis to enable policies to be drawn up and presented to relevant parties and committees. Although the exact nature will depend on the particular focus of the department or agency, an individual working in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, for instance, will probably not be doing work all that dissimilar to someone working at a similar level in the Ministry of Defence or Department of Trade and Industry, even though the content and subject matter will differ significantly between departments. Nevertheless, certain areas are so specialist, requiring certain skills and attributes, that they deserve particular attention.

The Diplomatic Service exists as a separate entity with responsibilities for the protection and promotion of the UK’s economic and political interests abroad. Aside from the Foreign Secretary, who heads up the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ambassadors and consuls are the UK’s representatives in individual countries, managing teams of various sizes. As with other departments, graduate recruits are likely to find themselves working on political and economic policy and advising ministers on specialist areas. Willingness to travel and reside abroad for long periods is a prerequisite, as individuals should expect to experience a couple of overseas postings working at an embassy or consulate within a few years of joining. Competition for places is typically very high and those with language skills will have an advantage due to the need for individuals to learn new languages quickly.

A related area is the European Fast Stream for those individuals who wish to pursue a career in the European Parliament or Commission. Although working within one of the Civil Service’s departments, European Fast Streamers specialise on issues and policies specifically related to the EU and advise on new directives from Brussels.GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) is located in Cheltenham and its aim is to intercept electronic communications for information relating to serious crime involving terrorism, drug trafficking, espionage. An aptitude for technology will be expected as individuals will be regularly required to use complex technologies in addition to carrying out intelligence gathering and analysing any findings.

The Security Service, or MI5 as it is popularly known, is responsible for protecting national security from internal threats through surveillance, intelligence gathering and analysis and acting upon any information discovered. MI5’s sister organisation, the Security Intelligence Service (or MI6), is concerned with all activities that occur outside the UK that pose a threat to national security. It goes without saying that to be suitable, applicants must be reliable, trustworthy and possess a high level of integrity. Beyond these qualities, individuals need to be able to work well under pressure and be confident and articulate to make presentations to interested parties.Engineers and scientists can also join certain departments (such as the MOD, DTI, DTLR and DEFRA) through the Fast Stream programme, where they can make direct use of their specialist skills.