Opening up the civil serivce: How to improve external recruitment
For more than 50 years, the civil service has committed to being better at external recruitment. But it continues to fall short at attracting, retaining and properly using the knowledge and skills present in wider society. Little progress has been made on the recent pledge, contained within June 2021\u2019s Declaration on Government Reform, to \u201cestablish new, appropriately and consistently managed, entry routes for professionals from outside government\u201d. The civil service is suffering as a result. \n\nSo what more could be done to bring external talent into the civil service \u2013 and why has the government\u2019s approach failed to make a difference? \n\nBuilding on the Institute\u2019s recent report on the topic, this important event will discuss why external recruitment is so important to an effective civil service and how to make it happen in practice. \n\nTo discuss the above and more, our expert panel included: \n\nKatharine Braddick, Group Head of Strategic Policy and Adviser to the Group CEO at Barclays and former senior civil servant\nJonathan Simons, Partner at Public First and former senior civil servant\nRt Hon Baroness Gisela Stuart of Edgbaston, First Civil Service Commissioner \nJordan Urban, Researcher at the Institute for Government. \n\nThe event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.