The Civil Service Fast Stream has once again been rated as the second-best graduate employer in the country.
For a second year running, the civil service graduate scheme has finished runner-up to professional services multinational firm PwC in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers rankings.
Beaulah Chadwick, deputy director of the Cabinet Office’s Fast Stream and Emerging Talent team, said: “This continued recognition reinforces the Fast Stream’s reputation as a world-leading graduate programme and strengthens our ability to attract the very best graduates. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and partners.”
The scheme has retained the second spot despite a drop in applications in recent years.
The ranking is based on interviews with over 14,000 graduates who left university this year.
Before its second-ranked placements in 2024-25 and 2023-24, the Civil Service Fast Stream topped the list for four years running: 2022-23, 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20. This came after fifteen years in a row where PwC came out on top.
Tom Willcocks, a 24-year-old fast streamer from Hertfordshire who is on the civil service’s digital, data, technology and cyber fast stream , said the scheme has "genuinely enabled me to succeed and make a good impact anywhere I go”.
“It provided early responsibility, diverse experiences across different postings and excellent training opportunities to develop both technical skills and leadership capabilities for delivering value and serving the needs of the public," he added.
Applications for next year’s Fast Stream open at midday on 10 October.