The range of occupations in the public sector is enormous; diplomats, environmental health officers, social workers and tax inspectors are all employed by the state, as are those who work in the armed forces, the National Health Service, education and so on.

A MORI poll found that the public sector is the most popular choice of employment for graduates.

Public sector workforce

The public sector is the UK’s biggest workforce, employing almost six million people – one in five of all UK workers – so it offers many opportunities.

Public sector employees also benefit from:

• higher salaries than in the private sector
• excellent training
• final-salary pension schemes
• an appreciation of work/life balance
• a real commitment to diversity and flexibility
• the satisfaction of making a contribution to society.

With all this on offer, it is clear why graduate careers in the public sector are attractive.

Public-sector organisations had a strong presence in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for 2007–8, with the Civil Service ranked fourth and the NHS sixth (an impressive achievement considering that it was ranked 27th in 2002!).

Salaries are competitive. Market rates for the job are increasingly being looked at, and in some areas there is performance-related pay.

And opportunities are available all over the country. The Met Office is based in Exeter, for example, and devolution in Scotland and Wales has created many opportunities for graduates. This is good news if you want to move back home, or stay in the same place you studied.

The vast majority of organisations in the public sector offer flexitime or other benefits such as job-share schemes, sponsored postgraduate study and generous leave provisions. Some offer the opportunity to work from home.

Graduatte-job descriptions

• Diplomat
• Environmental health officer
• Healthcare manager
• Housing officer
• Local government manager
• Policy adviser
• Prison officer
• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Tax inspector
• Trading standards officer

The public sector today

With the Government’s ten-year plan for delivering ’world-class public services’ and heavy investment in the public sector, particularly in the areas of health and education, the future looks bright.

However, the price of this extra investment is continual change. New working practices, innovation and development have all been embraced (some more willingly than others). Managers have looked to industry and business principles and methodologies, such as benchmarking. Accountability is everything, and a flexible attitude is important for public-sector success.

With the Government viewing top-level managers in the public sector as social entrepreneurs, graduate recruiters are looking for the same transferable skills as their counterparts in the private sector:

• excellent communication skills
• good interpersonal skills
• numeracy
• project management ability
• teamwork
• a good knowledge of IT.

Perhaps most valuable of all are sound judgement and commitment to public service. After all, public services affect the lives of every one of us, so work in the public sector is both a challenge and a big responsibility.