Explore Careers in Public Services

Opportunities in the public services can be broadly categorised into the two main areas of central and local government, which employ around 3.23 million and 2.03 million people respectively (as of June 2019).

These aren’t your only options – you can find work with a number of other public services, but these tend to cross over with other sectors. You could work in:

• healthcare – as a paramedic, administrator or health service manager where you’d typically be employed by the National Health Service (NHS), the sector’s biggest recruiter.
• law enforcement and security – either in the Armed Forces, fire service or the police.
• social care – social workers, carers and probation officers provide an invaluable public service.
• teacher training and education – as a primary, secondary or higher education teacher.

Opportunities in administration can be categorised into general, specialist (e.g. legal, educational, agricultural and medical) and professional (e.g. personal assistant or company secretary). Every sector needs administration staff, so you’ll be able to find work in a range of settings.