The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), delivered through its HR partner Integrated Corporate Services (ICS), has today launched a branded virtual work experience programme for young people aged 13 to 18, delivered in partnership with virtual work experience platform Springpod.
The programme gives learners, most of whom are expected to be aged 16 to 18, a structured introduction to civil service careers at DESNZ. It combines a modular virtual work experience with career insight content, two career simulations (one built around an analytics profession and one focused on a specific business area within DESNZ), and talent networking and reporting functionality. In its first year, the programme will offer 6,000 learner places.
Rather than a recruitment tool, the programme has been designed as a long-term investment in awareness and attraction. It aims to challenge outdated perceptions of what a career in the Civil Service looks like and extend DESNZ’s reach beyond London to regional audiences across the UK. Content throughout the programme leads with DESNZ’s actual work and impact, giving young people without existing networks or connections a genuine route into understanding public sector careers.
Sam Hyams, CEO of Springpod, said "For a lot of young people, a career in the Civil Service still looks like something reserved for people who already know the right people, or live in the right city. This programme is DESNZ actively working against that. It puts real DESNZ work in front of 13 to 18 year olds, not generic careers advice, and it does it in a virtual workplace meaning young people are being met wherever they are. That is what widening participation looks like when a department is serious about it."
