How to become a civil servant

Civil servants are individuals who work for central government departments, helping to deliver public services and put government policies into place – in a politically impartial way.

There are currently around 450,000 civil servants in the UK, spanning thousands of different roles. Civil servants usually specialise in a particular area e.g. tax policy for the HMRC, or support for farmers within DEFRA.

Civil servants come from many educational backgrounds and there are no minimum requirements or mandatory subjects.

• Undergraduate degrees – bachelor’s degrees in subjects such as economics, business studies or English would offer entry into generic civil servant roles. More specialised degrees might be appropriate for targeted roles in departments such as DEFRA or the Department for Transport.
• Civil Service Fast Stream – this scheme develops entrants regarded as having high potential to become senior civil servants and leaders within the civil service. It’s open to final year undergraduates, existing graduates and degree apprentices. The application process is competitive, but successful applicants will have opportunities to work in diverse roles across multiple departments, with enhanced development opportunities.
• Postgraduate studies – a master’s degree in public policy or public administration would offer opportunities at higher levels within the civil service.

What does a civil servant do?

There are many roles in government departments that are classed as civil service roles.

You may be involved with formulating detailed policy based on governmental guidance and implementing that policy across large departments. This often requires the analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data and information to provide summaries and reports which contribute to decisions which impact millions of people.

You might write or update processes and procedures used by colleagues in front line roles, based on new legislation, or you might be responding to queries from the public, colleagues or other departments.

Alternatively, your role might involve overseeing and reporting on the work of, for example, a local authority, the police or education authorities. This will involve communicating and building relationships with the organisations that you monitor, collating data, identifying potential issues, writing reports and making recommendations.

While there are many roles within the civil service, there are some specific tasks which will be common to most of them:

• Providing input into the definition and implementation of new government policies
• Analysing and interpreting data, to produce reports and recommendations
• Producing presentations which summarise complex issues and presenting to colleagues, civil service leadership teams, political advisors and ministers
• Keeping up to date with political trends, the economy and societal issues
• Maintaining processes and procedures in line with new legislation and policy

What are the typical working hours for a civil servant?

Most civil servants work regular or flexible office hours, Monday to Friday.

However, some roles may be shift-based, or occasionally require long and/or anti-social hours.