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What do Civil Servants say?

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When you work for the Civil Service, we offer a wide range of benefits with you, your family, and your future in mind. Find out more about our excellent employee benefits.
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Supported Schemes

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The Civil Service Guide to Job Sharing
The Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer that positively promotes all forms of flexible working, including job sharing.
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Applying for a Job

Supported Schemes

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Reasonable Adjustments
To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any adjustments that could help you. Read more about reasonable adjustments here.

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Going Forward
into Employment

GFiE is a network of 23 schemes across the Civil Service that civil servants can use to recruit people into the service who face barriers to employment.

We work across the UK, offering opportunities and working in partnership with Local Authorities, the wider public sector and the Voluntary sector to offer fantastic support to life chance candidates, line managers and teams so that candidates can flourish.

GFiE schemes do things differently  to bring new voices into the Civil Service:

  • We use simplified job descriptions
  • We work with partner organisations to find candidates
  • We use streamlined applications and interviews
  • We provide support to candidates and line managers so that candidates can flourish

Our work increases cognitive diversity, reaching out into communities, bringing new voices and lived experiences into the Civil Service from people who would not otherwise have joined the Civil Service.  

Importantly these are real roles, ring fenced for GFiE specifically and recruited via a different approach.  As well as bringing benefits to the organisation including new voices and fresh insights GFiE life chance recruitment offers important opportunities to learn and grow for candidates, line managers and buddies. 

Find a Scheme

GFiE schemes recruit colleagues into roles right across the UK

The image shows a map of the UK with regions highlighted in different colours. Each region shows a number representing how many people were placed in roles through Going Forward into Employment schemes between April 2022 and December 2023. The number of roles in each region of the UK is as follows: Scotland - 37 Northern Ireland - 6 Wales - 64 North East England - 67 North West England - 94 Yorkshire and the Humber - 34 West Midlands - 57 East Midlands - 106 South West - 55 East of England - 17 South East England - 123 London - 63

This map shows how many roles were filled using GFiE schemes between April 2022 and December 2023 in all regions of the UK.

Messages from GFiE’s senior sponsors

Fiona Ryland

Government Chief People Officer

We’ve committed to “continue to lead the way in developing a comprehensive life chance recruitment offer across the Civil Service by supporting a thriving community of GFiE schemes representing the geographical and professional range of the Civil Service, to candidates who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

I would like to see 5% of recruitment into AO and EO roles to be done using GFiE life chance recruitment schemes and I’d encourage you to share this document with your colleagues to raise awareness of this recruitment route. I’d encourage anyone to get in touch with the GFiE Team and find out how you can work with them to bring brilliant people into the Civil Service.

Peter Lawrence, OBE

Director of GFiE

Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) began in earnest in 2018 to help prison leavers secure employment in the Civil Service. In April 2018 the Civil Service Commission updated Exceptions 2 and 10 of the Recruitment Principles to support a broader life chances strategy which has allowed us to provide opportunities to individuals facing different barriers to employment.  

Today the Civil Service offers GFiE opportunities to a much wider group.

I am extremely proud of the over 3000 GFiE candidates who have joined and contributed to the delivery of public services and wish them every success in their careers. 

The GFiE story

GFiE began in 2018 with the aim of helping prison leavers secure employment in the Civil Service

There are 23 accredited schemes across the Civil Service

Over 3050 people have joined the Civil Service through GFiE

The image is a bar graph of the number of roles filled by Going Forward into Employment schemes. The graph shows an upward trend over time. The data is as follows; 2017-18 - between 0 and 500 roles. 2018-19 - between 0 and 500 roles. 2019-20 - between 500 and 1000 roles. 2020-21 - between 1500 and 2000 roles. 2021-22 - between 2000 and 2500 roles. 2022-23 - between 2500 and 3000 roles. 2023-24 - between 3000 and 3500 roles.

GFiE is growing every year

Most of our jobs are outside London

Success Stories

Hear from people who have been placed in roles via GFiE schemes and what it’s meant for them.

Read the stories

Explore the schemes

There are 23 accredited schemes available across the Civil Service.

Find a scheme

GFiE and the Civil Service Recruitment Principles

All GFiE Schemes are accredited to run under Exception 2 of the Recruitment Principles.

Learn more about the Principles