Top civil service jobs are a closed shop

ONLY one person from the private sector has secured a high-level post in the civil service in the past five years.

Details provided by the Department of Finance reveal the civil service remains all but a closed shop to private sector workers for most senior vacancies, despite the Government’s promise to increase the number of people recruited from outside the state sector.

The figures show of 314 applications from private sector workers, just one secured a top-level position – representing a 0.3% success rate. Private sector workers make-up 20% of the total number of applicants.