Skip to main content

About Us

What is the Civil Service?

The Civil Service is one of the largest employers in the UK. It supports the government of the day to implement its policies. We offer the unique opportunity to contribute to challenging, fast-paced work that makes a difference to the whole of society.

When you join the Fast Stream, you become a civil servant.

Civil servants work across the UK and abroad to promote and protect the nation's interests. We help to shape the decisions that will affect everyone's lives and to deliver the public services that we all rely on.

What are our values? 

Civil servants deliver their roles in the spirit of the Civil Service values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.  Join us and you become part of a modern, vibrant community of professionals, who have one goal in common: to give back to the communities they serve.

Fast Stream is an accredited Disability Confident Leader.

We have also won a number of awards, including in the area of Diversity and Inclusion, in the last 12 months:

  • The Times Top 100 - Graduate Employer of the Year 2022
  • The Times Graduate Recruitment Awards 2023 - Graduate Employer of Choice - Public Sector
  • The Times Graduate Recruitment Awards 2023 - Graduate Employer of Choice - Human Resources
  • Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards 2022 - Inclusive Recruiter of the Year - Winner
  • ISE Awards 2022 - Best Work Experience, internship or Placement Programme - Winner
  • ISE Awards 2022 - Innovation in Attraction - Winner
  • ISE Awards 2022 - Commitment to Improving Diversity through Student Resourcing - Highly Commended

We offer support and adjustments to those who need it, not only through our application and assessment process, but also through your employment with us.

You can find out more about the Civil Service at Civil Service Careers which gives potential applicants a positive, honest, reliable and relatable insight into working for the Civil Service. It provides information about departments, professions and ways to join, bringing these together in one place for the first time. 

What is the role of Fast Streamers?

Fast streamers work across the Civil Service, typically gaining experience of working in different government departments, as they are developed to become our future leaders and managers. The programme offers unlimited career potential to reach the very highest levels of the organisation.

As a fast streamer, you will be challenged and stretched from the outset and will be able to apply your skills and learning in a variety of contexts. You can find out more about the schemes we offer here

What the Civil Service offers

As a fast streamer, you'll enjoy the following Civil Service benefits:

  • Genuine responsibility from day one
  • Work with a strong social purpose
  • A permanent employment contract
  • A starting salary of £31,186
  • Annual earnings of £45-£55k on completion
  • Membership of the Civil Service Pension
  • Support to guide your personal development
  • Dedicated time for learning events
  • Access to e-learning, volunteering, job shadowing and more
  • Professional qualifications on many schemes
  • Postings across the UK
  • Relocation assistance for some schemes (up to £2,000 where applicable)
  • Opportunities to work flexibly

What can you expect?

Hear from some of our current Fast Streamers about what life is like on the Fast Stream.

Helia and Jake

Liam and Zainab

How to apply

When you apply to the Civil Service Fast Stream we'll be assessing your potential to become one of our future leaders. It's important to just be yourself when you apply to work for us. 

We are not looking for any particular 'type', but it will be helpful for you to understand what's expected of civil servants before you start our assessment process.

The Civil Service Success Profiles provide more detail and form the basis of our assessment process. 

You can find out how to apply to join the Fast Stream or SIP, here - How to Apply