Government scheme targets working-class students
The UK government has launched a landmark internship programme aimed at attracting working-class undergraduates into the civil service.
The scheme aims to boost social mobility and make Whitehall more representative of the public it serves.
Paid placements with a purpose
The new eight-week paid internship, announced by Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, will offer around 200 placements during the summer of 2026.
Targeted at students in their penultimate or final year of university, the programme is designed to open up civil service careers to individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds who are often underrepresented in top government roles.
Those who complete the internship and perform well will be fast-tracked to the final assessment stage of the highly competitive civil service fast stream.
The graduate recruitment programme, which brings about 1,000 new entrants into the civil service each year, received around 50,000 applications in 2024. Yet only 11.6% of successful candidates came from working-class backgrounds, despite making up around a quarter of all university students.
Measuring background, not just merit
The government will use metrics set by the Social Mobility Commission to determine eligibility for the scheme, including whether applicants were privately educated and their parents’ occupations when they were 14.
The initiative marks a shift in emphasis under Labour’s new administration, which has committed to “rewiring the state” to deliver on its five key missions: growing the economy, improving the NHS, tackling crime, leading the green transition, and removing barriers to opportunity.
“We need to get more working-class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country,” said McFadden.
“Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.”
Spreading opportunity beyond London
The internship forms part of a broader agenda to decentralise government. Earlier this year, ministers announced that 12,000 civil service jobs would be moved out of London and 11 offices in the capital closed by 2030. New locations include a digital and AI campus in Manchester and an energy hub in Aberdeen.
The move builds on the Conservative government’s previous “levelling up” strategy, which shifted 18,000 civil service roles out of the capital. However, Labour has pledged to go further by relocating prestigious policy roles and setting a target for half of all senior civil servants to be based outside London by the end of the decade.
Applications open this autumn
Applications for the new internship programme will open in October. Officials say it will provide a critical pathway for talented students who may have otherwise viewed the civil service as out of reach.
