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.

I’m responding to posters who seem to think kids get their jobs through their parents friends. Nothing to do with research.
If you read the posts

My comment stands.
Your discriminatory posts against white people is disgraceful

Oo that’s interesting do you have a link for that please ?

Yes of course heres the headliner

No idea either but
Im guessing it’s all everybody else’s fault though

.

‘Your discriminatory posts against white people is disgraceful’

this feels like satire.

Most people won’t know it’s only 200 though.
A lot of people don’t read or even watch the news these days. . They’ll pick up headliners from social media and think
Just like most on here

I’m not responsible for you understanding that reverse racism is a thing. Look up academic views if you don’t understand

and the meaning of discrimination

I tagged a news article upthread of discrimination against white men in the armed forces. It was investigated and found to be true.

To those used to privilege, equality feels like discrimination

The definition is quite clear and applies to all.

As the armed forces found out to their detriment when they played with the same put downs.🥱

Err, how about they use all of that lovely education they’ve received (either because their parents have paid for a private education or because they’ve been able to afford to live in the catchment areas of decent schools), and they apply for bloody entry level jobs, same as us plebs have been doing forever, because all of the posh kids were snapping up every opportunity that came along because their parents knew someone, or they had the right accent? How about that?

Or make them equally available to everyone.....

You’re missing the point that kids from my background, and from @NeverDropYourMooncup’s background, didn’t come from a place where working in film and television, zoology or neuroscience was ever considered an option.

If you can’t see that a pair of architects would be insisting on their children having bigger aspirations than working in a factory, or as a secretary or a hairdresser or a mechanic, and that they would be encouraging their children to think at this level, rather than taking the first job that came along so they could pay the rent, then I don’t know what to say to you. I mean, I understand it, because we all tend to think that our way of living and our experiences are normal, but come on, have a think about it.

How will it be equal? If you’re offering internships and the people deciding who gets those internships are your average civil servant, then how many of those 200 internships do you think will be offered to working class kids who don’t have the right accent, maybe feel a bit out of place, and don’t have the same educational background as the posh kids?

It’s impossible for it to be equal because applicants aren’t starting from a level playing field. It needs to be fair. And by fair, I mean fair to the less advantaged.

She’s talking about the people she went to school with. Funnily enough, none of them went into Whitehall.

Aren’t they meant to come from the same educational background? University graduates, at least?

What really grates is that this is discounting all the effort that decent parents put in to help their kids become responsible members of society and therefore decent applicants.

I don’t mean pulling strings to get internships because if you can pull those strings you might not choose the civil service.

I mean working hard yourself as a parent and staying in jobs when things get tricky so you provide your kids with a stable upbringing. Reading them a bedtime story and encouraging a love of books or, if not bookish, spurring them on in whatever area they find their passions. Cheering them at football matches or dance shows. Taking them to school every day even when they hate it! Teaching some manners and respect for the law. All the stuff that makes you middle class apparently.

These are the main ingredients for success. One of my kids hated school but I soldiered on with the encouragement. It’s not a given that middle class kids will succeed. These are the things that are the bedrock of a decent society. But, hey, ban anyone with those qualities!

What really grates is that this is discounting all the effort that decent parents put in to help their kids become responsible members of society and therefore decent applicants… I mean working hard yourself as a parent and staying in jobs when things get tricky so you provide your kids with a stable upbringing. Reading them a bedtime story and encouraging a love of books or, if not bookish, spurring them on in whatever area they find their passions. Cheering them at football matches or dance shows. Taking them to school every day even when they hate it! Teaching some manners and respect for the law. All the stuff that makes you middle class apparently

@Looploop I know it’s very late, or very early depending on your viewpoint, so I’m assuming that I’ve misunderstood, because you couldn’t possibly mean what it sounds like you’re saying.

It almost sounds like you’re suggesting working class parents aren’t putting in exactly the same amount of effort to ensure exactly those things. And I’m sure that’s not what you’re suggesting, is it?

Well of course the division between working class and middle class is bogus, isn’t it? All people who work should be called working class but some areas of work are apparently middle. A nurse can do all those things just as much as a train driver. But the nurse’s kids are now excluded.

The people who said they came from very deprived backgrounds spoke of a world with no broader horizons - decent parents will give their kids an idea the sky is the limit. You can do that with books or a free museum trip just as much as with a skiing holiday. And they will seek promotions in their work to provide the best they can for their kids. They will save too, in case of hard times, rather than spending every last penny. They will try to advance themselves. Then they will become middle class and their kids will not be wanted in the civil service!

I could have been a housewife. My ex-husband had little ambition and we could have lived in relative squalor. But I used my brain and held down a decent job and paid for childcare to do that - as anyone should - and provided a decent home. This is apparently privileged behaviour!

YANBU. It’s not just an internship, it’s about access to the Fast Stream.

I’m from a w/c, lower m/c background with no money, no connections, nothing. I wouldn’t have been eligible. It’s too blunt a tool and will cut off too many talented people.

I work with civil servants a lot; they’re not all Sir Humphrey’s anymore. At the junior end many really aren’t that bright, competent or well informed about the wider world.

This isn’t a positive step.

@Looploop

Wow. You really are saying that! I didn’t think you’d admit to it,

You have said something so stupid, so utterly inane, and really bloody offensive that I don’t know where to start. Or even if I should bother. I think it would be an utter waste of my time. What I will say, is that if anyone ever needs an example of the utter drivel that some middle class people think about the working class, and why working class kids should be helped out with a level playing field, your post would be the perfect example of that.

This is actually disgusting. A victorian mindset.

Well it was different to when I went to uni too, but you / I am educated enough to be able to offer assistance. My son has just graduated, and I helped by researching how UCAS system works so I can discuss with him, looking up courses, paying to take him on open days (including up to Scotland). His dad was able to offer advice too. My parents couldn’t have done any of that, and were not interested.

I do find it bizarre how some people can’t see that their children have had an advantage growing up by having parents who have good qualifications, a good income, ability to attend good schools with parents who have an interest in their education and career choices. Living in good areas. It all matters.

My DC were playfully laughing at my D in maths and E in science the other week when driving home from my son’s graduation. My ex told them both how privileged they are compared to me, as I attended a poor performing school and had parents with no qualifications, and no aspirations for me career wise (my mother caused a big row when I said I wanted to go to uni). They have had the opposite and no-one can argue that having parents who value education doesn’t have an impact. Looking at parents success (their dad has a high profile job), even other family members (uncle has a big job at google) all make a difference.

That doesn’t mean that kids who have parents in low skilled jobs won’t succeed in life. Many do of course, but they aren’t at the same starting point are they. This well known video on unseen privilege really reflects that.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vR3Oovhi1Q&pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD

And the CS does want people from all walks of life. This is one scheme. Plenty of entry level jobs on CS jobs. People are acting like because their DC are excluded from this scheme, they can’t join or are not wanted. BS.

Great idea, delighted they are doing something to improve prospects for young people.

Are you saying that electricians and plumbers don’t care about or invest in their DC’s education? That is total bullshit. There are tradespeople parents at my DC’s private school and my other DC’s state grammar. In fact, at the private school, the tradespeople are some of the richest parents. The ones that go on fancy holidays every single school holiday and have the flashiest cars….