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Science and engineering profession in government

There are around 15,000 scientists and engineers in Government carrying out a huge range of occupations, from radiation health and safety to brain electrophysiology, cloud physics, or agricultural processing.

The science and engineering profession across Government has been developed with strong central leadership by the GCSA in his role as Head of Science & Engineering Profession or “HoSEP”. He is supported in this role by a network of departmental HoSEPs.

The HoSEP vision for Government is to build a cohesive community across Government supporting scientists and engineers within the Civil Service and to champion the profession across Government.

As HoSEP, the GCSA is also:

  • co-ordinating and promoting the spreading of good practice;
  • ensuring professional skills and learning and development activities are aligned with the common curriculum for the Civil Service; and
  • meeting regularly with departmental HoSEPs to discuss issues of importance to the profession, such as skills, recruitment and professional development.

Background

The Scientific Civil Service was created in 1945 to regularise the ad hoc arrangements made by Government for employing scientists during the war. It continued until the Fulton Report in 1968. The Fulton Report advocated the elimination of the various classes within the Civil Service because they imposed a rigid structure which made it unnecessarily difficult for staff to move between roles to gain a breadth of experience. It is nonetheless important that scientists and engineers within the Civil Service are valued for their expertise and that attractive career and development opportunities are open to them. To a large extent this is managed within individual departments and establishments.