I’ve been working in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK Civil Service for the last four years. I have been based in Whitehall, at 1 Victoria Street, close to the Houses of Parliament. I had internship stints in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the European Commission and HM Treasury.
It’s been a fascinating journey since I’ve joined BEIS. I’ve had the fortune of moving around a few different positions and gaining a wide range of experience in a relatively short amount of time. I started working on EU policy whilst the UK was still a Member State. I worked on the coordination of the EU Council of Ministers meetings. This meant working with Ministers and policy leads to create a briefing and itinerary for an international meeting. I even went with my Minister to Brussels to attend the Competitiveness Council and see how EU negotiations happened in practice.
Later, I was the policy lead on the European Accessibility Act, where I worked with analysts and lawyers to set our negotiating position for the EU file. This meant working closely with stakeholders and doing short and sharp analysis to ensure the best result for the UK Government.
At the end of 2018 I took a team lead role within the legislation team. I ensured that the necessary legislation was in place to ensure a functioning statute book by the end of EU Exit. In practice, this meant organising the delivery of over 40 ‘Statutory Instruments’ – pieces of secondary legislation to amend UK law. I learnt plenty about the complexities around legislation, and how government makes things happen in practice to ensure that policies thought up within Whitehall are actually put in place.
I’ve most recently moved into my current role within the Regulated Professions team. I take on a wider programme management role to ensure that a team of over 30 staff are delivering a wide array of work – be it from international negotiations, stakeholder engagement and policy delivery. My highlight in this role was writing the bid for a Professional Qualifications Bill; we were only one of a few successful bids and it’s fantastic to see this become a reality with the bill being introduced in Early May.
More wider afield, I’ve learnt a lot about the world of politics having seen the knitty-gritty process of Brexit unfolding from the inside. I’ve worked with Ministers and seen the different relative interests and pressures of government responsibilities.
I’ve also greatly enjoyed being immersed in the world of the Civil Service– I have gained a wide array of skills (including project management and leadership & management qualifications) as well as a chance to really make a difference to the public. I’ve been heavily involved in Diversity and Inclusion, first chairing the Faith and Minority Ethnic (FAME) Network, where I had the opportunity to present to the Executive Committee and recommendations on Race.
I was my Group Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, where I wrote and agreed with my Director General and Directors the first ever Group D&I Workplan, encompassing our ambition to create a more inclusive workplace for the 600 staff within the group.
I have particularly enjoyed being in BEIS – as far as government departments go, I find the atmosphere welcoming in particular, and the remit is very broad meaning there are plenty of opportunities to move internally and try something new. It’s why I’ve ended up staying for several years, rather than moving to another government department as other civil servants have done.
So whilst there have certainly been point where it’s been a challenging ride, if you ever get the opportunity I would certainly recommend BEIS as a great place to develop (or even start) your career. There are plenty of interesting pieces of work and a generally friendly and welcoming atmosphere.