Wanted to reply to this and offer a few thoughts - I suspect we see things differently and we’re not going to agree, which is probably a good thing, but I do still see the scheme as both discriminatory and indeed patronising, so I don’t agree with it.
I suppose a lot will rest on how many of the 200 interns will ultimately be successful in their applications, but I would be surprised if the success rate wasn’t a high number given that the whole intention is to change the type of people entering the civil service. If we end up with 10-15% of successful applicants coming from one chosen demographic, and the remainder assessed purely on merit, then I can’t see how that’s a positive.
Ultimately you are introducing a factor other than merit into the selection process. Some people will see that as a necessary move, but personally I find the whole thing to be rather patronising and I wouldn’t have entertained applying for the scheme when I was younger.
I do not come from a privileged background, very far from it actually, but by the time I was finishing up my studies I knew I didn’t need any help competing with rich sorts. I quite enjoyed getting one over them, but when I got my first job the best mate I made there (and still good friend) had been to Eton and so had one of my bosses, and I never had a problem.
Actually it was very funny observing them and although I may have had to work a bit harder to get on, I don’t think I was treated that differently. It would have helped that I was in a much more meritocratic environment than the civil service, but if people had started making it easier for me because of my background I’d have walked out.
