Professional training & development
The Public Sector Development and Mentoring Scheme (PSDMS) is a positive action initiative led by the FDA in partnership with civil service employers (including the civil service Fast Stream and departmental diversity networks) and partner universities working to support a more diverse senior workplace in the civil service.
The scheme runs all year round and is refreshed with the university academic year, running to the end of the application processes for schemes that offer graduate entry such as the civil service Fast Stream and others including the Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) in HMRC.
Members of the FDA who are currently on schemes such as Fast Stream act as mentors to students and serving civil servants from diverse backgrounds, to encourage them to apply for Fast Stream and for other civil service schemes opportunities.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor, or would like to find out more information, get in touch!
Katherine Carnegie
You also kindly matched me with a current TSP to provide some tips and hints prior to me attending my assessment centre. Thank you for the support you and the FDA provided, which I believe significantly contributed to my successful application.
Mentee
April 2023
If I am successful – you will have a loyal FDA member from day one!
June 2023
I have been offered a place on the Project Delivery Fast Stream – thanks for all your help, it was really beneficial to get guidance from those currently on the Fast Stream
Attending sessions helped me successfully gained a place on the Civil Service Fast Stream. I now look forward to becoming a mentor myself
Shelley McComb
The FDA PSDMS programme put me in touch with a colleague who is a current TSP trainee as I had got through to the assessment centre which was very helpful. Very happy to say I was successful in the TSP
Katherine Hutchinson speaks to member Tutu Ogle about her burgeoning career and how her union is supporting its growth.
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.
Member Sabrina Schalz applied for the Fast Stream (FS) whilst pregnant, and took her baby with her to the FS Base Camp. Katherine Hutchinson finds out more about the support Schalz received when navigating the FS application and her decision to become a mentor herself.
The FDA’s Public Sector Development and Mentoring Scheme has been working alongside social enterprise Third Wave to help refugees find positions within the civil service. Tom Nathan speaks to both mentors and mentees about what they gained from the experience.
As part of Young Workers’ Month, the FDA highlights how development schemes like the Fast Stream can set young workers up for a successful career in public service, and how the union will support them along the way.
If you are from a disadvantaged background, it is clear that becoming a member of a trade union, and particularly the FDA, improves your chances of getting in and getting on.
