Civil Service internship. Only children of the "working class"

[Quirkswork]

If your child is coming up for 14 and interested in a career in the Civil Service and you have a job in a profession or that means you pay a lot of tax, I suggest you down tools now.

As reported in the Telegraph,

Civil Service internships will only be offered to students from lower income families in a bid to make Whitehall more working class, ministers have announced.

Only young people from “lower socio-economic backgrounds” will be able to apply to Whitehall’s internship programme, the Cabinet Office has said.

A student will be judged eligible depending on what jobs their parents did when they were 14. Students with parents who are receptionists, electricians, plumbers, butchers or van drivers would be among those eligible for the programme.

Exactly - social factors make a big difference as well.

I took a sabbatical just before my child started school so they'd get lunch for free. I feel sorry for anyone paying £15 a week per child just for a mediocre lunch. I also feel sorry for people who'd rather bitch about something like the subject of this thread when they could easily just lie about their parents job

Define privileged

I would be embarrassed to admit it if I had done that. I am not on a high income, but I can provide food for DD, and put a roof over our head.

I would rather my taxes went to people who genuinely need it, and can recognise that I can provide a far better life for DD as someone in work - the example it sets, the possibilities it opens up, the relationships we gain - than someone out of work.

Even if that means days out are low cost, and holidays are a few days camping.

Ok, so what is unrepresentative and by how much? Do people seriously what an exact quota in the civil service of what occupation their parents did when they were 14? Do we have to have 2% civil servants who’s parents were bakers?

Or should we just stop with the ludicrous identity politics and let everyone have an equal shot.

A pp already set me straight about it being paid. As for the rest of your rant, I'm not one of the people you are talking about so I'm not sure why you included it in a reply to me. I've actually worked in the civil service and agree it needs to be more diverse. My only issue when I thought it was unpaid was that I felt that would exclude a lot of people from taking it up.

Not worrying about getting enough to eat. Having a safe, dry, stable place to live, with enough room for privacy and studying. Some extra curricula activities so you gain confidence trying new things and meeting new people. An occasional holiday going somewhere completely new, just for the experience.

No violence at home. A community with minimal violence (sadly nowhere is crime free, but able to have the expectation of going out and getting home safely and without harassment).

Parents with the time and energy to listen to you, play with you, read with you, and encourage you. Parents who encourage you to dream and have aspirations, and help you find opportunities to grow and develop.

Edited to add! A school that keeps it's pupils safe, provides a decent level.of education and pastoral care, and encourages all pupils to have aspirations

No need for embarrassment on an anonymous forum, I can admit to all the shit I wouldn't tell a soul in real life.
Funny you mention holidays, not only are school lunches free but DC also gets to go to fun summer camps for free, DC just got back from a great day playing different sports and swimming.

And I ALWAYS put that im Mixed Race and bisexual when filling out forms 😉prove that I'm not

So, you are teaching your children that lying is ok if it benefits you?

Personally I would rather my children grow up with some honesty and integrity.

It’s an insane system so good for you. Can’t beat them, join them.

Are you saying you wouldn't admit it in real.life? That you would be embarrassed?

Personally I would rather my children grow up with some honesty and integrity.

Are you sure? Public sector pensions are very good plus it’s very difficult to ever get fired especially if you have a protected characteristic.

Nope. They have other opportunities. Your company isn’t the only company in the UK, surely. And there is no guarantee that they would have been chosen anyway.

My children aren't aware that I don't pay for their lunch or their holiday camps.
Why would I tell them?

Exactly. Why are people so entitled that they think the internship has their child’s name written on it.

I think things like this can be a good idea, at least in theory.

The devil can be in the details though. For one thing, having the internship in itself mustn't give an advantage in permanent recruitment, and that needs to be clear to the students.

More difficult, imo, is how to define wc and even more basically, how to define who needs this. I've seen programs that were pitched toward lower income families, where the result seems to be that the poor have a chance, and the rich have their chance, and often the "lower middle" end up out in the cold. They don't have the access lot of money brings and they don't have the access from these kinds of programs either.

Frankly it would be good for the civil service to be more working class, but I think an excellent way to facilitate that would be to look at where university degrees are actually required.

Yes. I would.

I had an elderly father (i was the youngest of his second family).

He was 17 when the newsreels broke the news of the concentration camps. The result of so, so many people putting their self interest first.

I was brought up to believe i have a responsibility to other people, even if i don't know them. That we should help those in need if we are in a better position, and not be ashamed of accepting help if we are in need (I was on benefits for a while due to.ill health).

No, I don't want my children to prioritise their benefit to the point of dishonesty.

So you lie to them as well.

Each to their own. Personally I wouldn't.

DD has had holiday clubs due to having an EHCP. We have had insulation provided through a government scheme because I have under a certain income. She knows why we have had that, and others haven't.

All the things that many many “working class” children have and some far more than many “middle class” children.

I don't lie to them I just haven't told them 😂
They don't even realise some kids get lunch for free Vs some parents pay.

Not wanting your children to be excluded from something is not the same as thinking they have their child’s name on it.

But the opportunities are only for certain kids. That is discrimination. If it was internships only for males, for example, you would see it was wrong.

There are, of course, outliers as I said.

Please do have a look at the Sutton Trust research.

It seems FSM are the best indicator of disadvantage, but it is a proxy measure so best used as one of several measures.

Especially as we have seen on this thread that there are some (probably a tiny minority) of people who choose to play the system.

If it was internships for males interested in e.g. childcare because they are under represented in that field and it would be good for children to have more male role models in early years?

I would be in favour.

LOL