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Organising: a community of practice

FDA Autumn Roadshow at Kings Court in Sheffield

FDA Head of Organising and Learning Deri Bevan on the rise in HEO, SEO and graduate scheme members who are increasingly active within the FDA. Plus, trends and feedback from this year’s FDA Learn calendar.

Organising

FDA Autumn Roadshow at HMRC Three New Bailey in Manchester

We have been on the road again with the second year of our Autumn recruitment roadshows, working with branches to improve local visibility. It’s quite common during these events to meet potential members who were not aware that they were eligible to join the FDA in the first place, and then when we talk to them about the benefits that come with membership they are often surprised and impressed.

This is particularly true amongst civil servants with line management responsibilities – HEO and SEO grades are consistently amongst the highest numbers of new joiners every month, but we still need to keep getting the message out there that the FDA is the union for them.

There is a host of materials and resources available on our FDA On page if you wish to share  information about FDA member benefits with colleagues, and if you are interested in hosting a recruitment session in your workplace, contact organiser@fda.org.uk and we can help.

The second group where we’ve seen impressive recruitment success is across graduate schemes. We have a lot to be proud of with our work in this area, particularly how it builds long-term activism amongst younger workers. November was TUC Young Workers’ Month and whilst by no means all of our graduate scheme members or Public Sector Development and Mentoring Scheme (PSDMS) participants are under 25, many are.

Through the great work of our Fast Stream branch – and also our Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC) section and their work with Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) new starters – the FDA engages with large numbers of civil servants at a very early stage in their careers.

Many go on to become active in the FDA – we introduce hundreds every year to trade unionism. In my role, I regularly talk to members who became involved whilst on the Fast Stream, have gained a grade 7 role and crucially, have stayed involved as reps and activists. Our model is unique – very few other unions have the opportunity to organise for the long term in this way.

FDA Learn

We are on target to support more than 9,000 learners in FDA Learn this calendar year and, as a needs-driven programme, we monitor trends and participation levels by topic and course delivery type all year round. The sessions and topics that our members tells us they value most mainly focus on improving their ability to do their jobs better, but crucially, evidence shows that they value most the opportunity to share that learning with each other in communities.

The average FDA Learner attends more than four sessions per year and we have many that attend more than ten. Feedback from participants consistently guides our programme planning and many of our providers have their own community of followers.

Building this ‘community of practice’ approach into the learning and development agenda in the civil service is the sustainable answer to meeting the ongoing skills challenge.

Civil servants having time to prioritise learning is also vital. Ever increasing workloads and ongoing workplace reorganisation means huge time pressures. If employers are serious about becoming skills-based organisations then there is work to do. The learning and development agenda in the civil service can sometimes feel a bit lost with competing priorities – trying to simultaneously prioritise new technologies, generic people skills, leadership, technical, individual upskilling and collective productivity gains.

The message we are getting from our members is that all of this is possible, but civil servants need the time, space and support from employers to prioritise their development. Time to access learning, and facilities to meet, share and collaborate, are the key. FDA Learn provides that opportunity and we will continue to do so into 2026 and beyond.

Deri Bevan

FDA Head of Organising and Learning

Civil servants need the time, space and support from employers to prioritise their development. FDA Learn provides that opportunity.

PSDMS: helping improve civil service social mobility

The FDA Learn’s Public Sector Development and Mentoring Scheme (PSDMS) is the largest mentoring programme in the civil service, supporting our highest ever number of participants into Fast Stream roles this year. PSDMS helps to support diversity in senior roles, providing help with civil service application processes from a mentor who has been through a similar experience. We hear from two participants who entered the Fast Stream thanks to PSDMS support and are now active members and mentors themselves.

Kristian Williams

Williams describes PSDMS as “a confidence booster, knowing that someone was there to support you through the process having gone through it themselves and can direct you on the specifics. Also, having my mentor check up on me as the day approached towards my assessment centre to check that I’m mentally prepared was really helpful.

“We’d run through his own personal advice on how he took the assessment centres and what they’re looking for. He’d go through the Behaviours and give examples of what we should be trying to evidence during that. I found that very helpful to demystify the whole process and really know what to prepare for.”

Williams decided to become a PSDMS mentor: “Knowing it’s going to those who may have come from an environment just like myself, from a working class background, being able to help people who may feel that the civil service is a bit closed off to them… It’s an exceptionally rewarding experience.”

Marta Hagerman Royo

Hagerman Royo “would recommend the scheme” as “having someone to talk to about the application process who had gone through it… really helped with feeling more prepared and knowing what to expect. I. It really helps… resolve any doubts that you have.”

Hagerman Royo also made the decision to become a mentor: “I feel as the application is still quite fresh in my mind, I can really help someone who’s applying.”

Meet the FDA Learn provider: Sal Naseem from True North Leadership

Why True North Leadership? I get asked this question all the time. This idea of True North and how it links to values-based leadership wasn’t just a catchy name, but actually the belief system that I’ve used throughout my career.

I’m Sal Naseem, a best-selling author and a former civil servant who has had a career driving change. As the former Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, I spent the best part of a decade working in the police accountability framework in England and Wales. I also held senior independent roles in the Electoral Commission, the National Fire Chiefs Council, and Birmingham City Council.

I recently started my own organisation to share how I navigated the leadership challenges in my career with the consistent application of a values-based approach, but also one key ingredient that no one seems to speak about. Moral courage.

I offer various keynotes and bespoke inputs on how moral courage is a key leadership competency and design impactful workshops which can be slotted into existing leadership programmes.

And now I have the wonderful full-circle moment of offering this input to FDA members, having been a former member. I had the honour of being the Chair for the national Ethnic Minorities into Leadership Conference for several years, and I’m still a huge supporter of everything this organisation does for its members.

Learning and development is not a luxury, but I know, as public servants, how easy it is to put our own development at the back of the queue.  The FDA’s commitment to professional growth deserves recognition and your engagement.

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