Name: James Powell
University attended: Leeds University
Degree obtained: BA Economic Studies

James started off his Fast Stream career with the Home Office before moving across to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). A few months in, he was briefing the Financial Director of the Prison Service.What surprised him was the degree to which he was treated as an expert in his field – and respected for it – from the very beginning.

When I joined the DfES I was in a team working on the economic appraisal and evaluations of existing and new policies. To make best use of the limited resources, we have to try to work out how much policies would cost the taxpayer and what the benefits would be. It’s quite tricky trying to value the future economic benefits of investing in current education policies, but at the same time it’s hugely rewarding knowing that our work contributes directly to policy formulation.

I’m now an economic adviser in a policy team tasked with the increase of participation in higher education towards 50% of those aged 18–30 by the end of the decade. It’s one of the Government’s four key education delivery priorities, so the work is very high profile.

My job involves using complex economic modelling and statistical analysis to elucidate data – then making sure a whole range of people can actually understand what it means. For example, we’re talking to Ministers, policy colleagues, university and further education institutions... and none of them are economic analysts! I focus on measuring progress towards achieving the project targets and managing the policy delivery – colleagues in Analytical Services do most of the detailed analysis work, but I’m there to challenge and advise them where necessary.

Communication skills are essential in this job, and the ability to communicate economic information to non-specialists is a vital part of what I do. In the past, I’ve helped design and run training programmes for noneconomists so other people could understand more readily what we do. It also helped the department as a whole to improve its understanding of economics so we can work more effectively.

I find the link between economics and politics as fascinating as it is inextricable, which means I’ve found the Fast Stream a tremendous challenge – and very enjoyable. It’s important for me to see the impact my job has on society and real lives.