GESDAP Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 17 December 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-government-economic-service-degree-level-apprenticeship/gesdap-frequently-asked-questions
Why does the Civil Service have an economic apprenticeship?
What sort of people work in the Civil Service?
What is the Government Economic Service?
Who would be suited to this degree apprenticeship?
Work
Why is working for the GES so worthwhile?
Which departments are involved?
Study
Will I have to pay for my degree?
What does the studying entail?
How long will the programme take?
Before you apply
Who can answer my question about something not covered in the FAQs?
Am I eligible to work in the UK and to apply for a degree apprenticeship programme?
Is security clearance required?
What do I need in order to apply?
I am currently a civil servant – can I apply to the economist degree apprenticeship programme?
Can I apply if I am not currently a civil servant?
I haven’t studied economics – can I apply?
Can I apply if I already have a degree?
Can I apply if I have a qualification from another country?
Where can I register my interest?
Will the apprenticeship lead to a permanent job?
If successful, when will I start?
Can I choose which department I will work for?
ANSWERS
Background
What is the GESDAP?
The Government Economic Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme (GESDAP) is the first degree-level economics apprenticeship programme in the UK. The programme offers you a unique opportunity to work in a central government department or agency on some of the most important social, environmental and economic issues our country faces – whilst studying a degree in economics. You will complete your studies with the University of Kent – selected to deliver the programme because of the strength of their economics courses and the support they offer to apprentices throughout your time on programme. Once successfully completed, you will have an apprenticeship, an economics degree, and the experience of four years’ working in the Civil Service – putting you in a brilliant position to progress in your career from there.
Why does the Civil Service have an economic apprenticeship?
Economists play a really important role in the way government makes policy. We need more economists and we want the economists we employ to reflect the communities we serve – meaning we want to recruit people from all sorts of different backgrounds and in different parts of the country.
What’s the Civil Service?
The Civil Service helps to keep the UK prosperous and secure, supporting the governments we serve in implementing their commitments and delivering high quality services for the public. We employ over 420,000 people from across the UK. There are a wide range of roles and opportunities within services such as Finance, Diplomacy, Health, Science and Technology. The Civil Service is united by a strong sense of public service, and its enduring values – integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity – run through all that we do. The Civil Service Success Profiles have more details about what is expected of civil servants.
What sort of people work in the Civil Service?
All sorts! We are committed to recruiting people from a range of different backgrounds, and our recruitment programmes have won lots of awards for their focus on diversity and inclusion. We are changing along with British society to reflect the communities we serve. Our record of diversity and inclusion puts us head and shoulders above most organisations. We actively support those with additional requirements both during selection and in the workforce.
What is the Government Economic Service?
The Government Economic Service (GES) is the professional body for economists in the UK Civil Service. Since its foundation in 1964, GES economists have been involved in decision making across government. Our ability to explain, predict and propose solutions has seen economists and economics firmly embedded as an essential part of government. GES economists have proved themselves to be relevant, rigorous and respected.
GES members are employed, paid and managed entirely by their departments, agencies or devolved administrations. Reflecting this set-up, each organisation’s Chief Economist or Head of Profession for Economics is the leader for the GES within their organisation. This structure serves economists well, as it balances the benefits of having a link to a wider professional community with ensuring that economists are fully integrated into their organisations. As such, successful applicants will receive an offer of employment from a government department or organisation, not the GES.
More information on the GES can be found on the GES website
GES YouTube content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ1zj5Vc185cVuPWHguVwA
What will I learn?
You will get first-hand experience of how government works and how policies are made.
Working as a member of the GES involves the development and use of:
- Quantitative skills: manipulating and presenting data
- Writing and presentation techniques: communicating economics clearly and succinctly to senior officials and ministers
- Applied economics skills: using economic insights and techniques to inform decisions on anything from the environment to transport
The degree in Economics will be comprised of:
- Microeconomics: how individuals and firms make decisions, interaction of supply and demand
- Macroeconomics: how the economy works at a national and international level
- Econometrics: the use of data to test theories and evaluate changes in government policies
- Option for further study of areas such as environmental economics
What benefits will I enjoy?
Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing.
As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits. This includes:
- 25 days’ annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays. This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday
- a competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire
- flexible working patterns including part- time or time-term working and access to Flexible Working Schemes allowing you to vary your working day as long as you work your total hours
- flexible working patterns allowing you to vary the length of your working day, as long as you work your total monthly full time contracted hours
- generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers
- childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here Tax-Free Childcare
- interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle
Who would be suited to this degree apprenticeship?
This programme would suit:
- people studying technical or vocational courses, e.g. students with BTEC qualifications in relevant areas including business, science, ICT
- a level students studying a wide combination of subjects, e.g. economics, STEM subjects and those who studying other subjects with interest in economics
- apprentices and other young people already in work
- adults in / out of work who meet entry requirements
- existing civil servants - people who have joined the Civil Service without first getting a degree or who have a degree in something other than economics
Work
What will I be doing?
The range of opportunities open to you through the GESDAP programme is huge – working in government departments responsible for things like finance, business, energy, justice, education and the environment.
That means you will have the opportunity to make change better in the areas that really matter to the world you live in – working on issues like:
- how government can support small businesses to grow
- how government can support UK businesses to compete in a changing world
- how government can support people to kickstart their lives after time in prison
- how government can act to protect the environment
In government, great economics and great economists are contributing to the very biggest decisions that the country faces.
The same is true in private sector businesses. Great economics, and great economists provide leaders with the analysis and advice they need to make the biggest decisions.
Which departments are involved?
The GESDAP is relevant to all central government departments and agencies; many already have economic apprentices through the programme, including HMRC, HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Transport and all departments who have Economic Advisors.
What hours will I work?
Working weeks are 37 hours. 80% of this time is spent on GES work, and 20% of this time will be for learning.
Will I have to travel?
Some travel may be required for this role.
Study
Will I have to pay for my degree?
No. One of the great benefits of studying via a GES apprenticeship is no university fees.
How often will I be studying?
You will typically dedicate one day a week to your studies, but you will also be learning lots on the job.
What does the studying entail?
The degree in Economics will be comprised of:
- microeconomics: how individuals and firms make decisions, interaction of supply and demand
- macroeconomics: how the economy works at a national and international level
- econometrics: the use of data to test theories and evaluate changes in government policies
- option for further study of areas such as environmental economics
How long will the programme take?
Typically, 4 years.
Before you apply
Who can answer my question about something not covered in the FAQs?
Email us at [email protected]
Am I eligible to work in the UK and to apply for a degree apprenticeship programme?
You are eligible to apply for the Civil Service degree apprenticeship programme if you satisfy the nationality requirement and the right to work requirement.
Nationality requirement:
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Resided in the UK for at least the previous 3 years before the start of the apprenticeship.
You must be a British citizen to apply for some posts, particularly those related to security and intelligence. Check on the individual scheme pages.
Right to work requirement:
In addition to the nationality requirement, you must have the right to work in the United Kingdom. We do not offer sponsorship for this role.
Eligibility requirements are explained in more detail in the Civil Service nationality rules.
Is security clearance required?
Yes. If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to CTC/SC/DV level. More information about the vetting process can be found at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels
What do I need in order to apply?
Minimum of five GCSE (including Maths at grade B (6) or above and English Language at C (4) or above) or equivalent.
Minimum of 96 UCAS points under the 2017 tariff point system (e.g. CCC at A Level or equivalent qualifications, not including General Studies). You can check how many UCAS points you have by using the UCAS Tariff Calculator at https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
We don’t expect you to have studied economics previously but we are keen to know what interests you about the subject.
This apprenticeship is open to applicants from all backgrounds and demographics.
I am currently a civil servant – can I apply to the economist degree apprenticeship programme?
Yes, as long as you meet the entry requirements
Can I apply if I am not currently a civil servant?
Yes. This role is open to suitably qualified people in the external market and to existing civil servants and those in accredited non-departmental bodies.
I haven’t studied economics – can I apply?
Yes.
Can I apply if I already have a degree?
Yes, as long as the degree is not in economics.
Can I apply if I have a qualification from another country?
We accept applications from candidates with overseas qualifications, provided that they can supply evidence that their qualification is at a comparable level to that required by the GESDAP. The onus (including any costs) of providing appropriate documentation is on the candidate. The UK National Information Centre (UK ENIC) provides information about the comparability of different international qualifications. We would not normally ask for such evidence until you had been declared successful: it would then be required for our pre-appointment checks.
I have previously applied for a Fast Track apprenticeship and I wasn’t successful. Can I apply for this?
Yes, if you have applied in a previous year, you can apply again. It’s not unusual to succeed after 2 or 3 attempts. However, you can only apply once in each recruitment campaign. Information from previous applications will not be available to assessors.
Application process
Will the apprenticeship lead to a permanent job?
Successful completion of the End Point Assessment will confer entitlement to permanent employment in the GES at mainstream entry level, and opportunity to apply for the Fast Stream and/or promotion.
If successful, when will I start?
September 2025.
Can I choose which department I will work for?
Candidates who are successful are advised that you will be randomly allocated to any of the participating departments, though we will take your location into consideration. Please note: While we will make every effort to allocate a department within a location - this is not guaranteed.
Some departments also require candidates to have a UK footprint for 5 years in order to get security clearance including the Home Office, HM Treasury, Ministry of Justice and some other departments.
Can I defer my entry?
If you wish to apply for the following years GESDAP programme, we would welcome your application the following year.
Only in exceptional personal circumstances such as illness or bereavement, would we consider deferrals. If you think you may need to defer, you will be able to request this following your offer of a place on the GESDAP and this will be considered on a case by case basis.
More information
To find out more about the apprenticeship programme, visit: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/professional-economist-degree/