A group of Kent undergraduate and postgraduate students won the opportunity to visit Parliament, meet Senior Civil Servants and observe parliamentary business this week. All part of EmpFest16.

The students all applied for the opportunity through the Careers and Employability Service who are working closely with the Civil Service Fast Stream to help boost applications from Kent students and graduates. This year has seen a significant increase in the UK Civil Service’s presence at Kent and has resulted in more than 600 students applying to join the Civil Service from Kent.

A Senior Whitehall Civil Servant encouraged Kent students ‘to persevere with their applications, as too many students give up early in the application process, often because the process is unfamiliar.’ There was an interesting conversation about the need for greater diversity in the organisation at the heart of British Government with the Senior Civil Servant stating ‘candidates should not exclude themselves based on a characteristic. We need people from all walks of life to work here.’

To get support with applications for graduate roles or internships, go online to www.kent.ac.uk/ces or pop into the Careers and Employability Service. We have term time daily drop-ins, Monday to Friday 10.30-12.30 and 14.00-16.00 at Canterbury and 14.00-15.00 at Medway.