The British intelligence agency MI5 is tasked with protecting the country from threats to their national security is looking for interns.
Dubbed the Summer Diversity Intelligence Internship, the initiative seeks individuals who are in their next to last year of university study and are “from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethic or socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Applicants should be problem solvers and possess “enthusiasm, team spirit and a love of learning.” Also, the agency is looking for applicants who like to work with others and make a positive impact.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to learn how front-line operations are managed. They will also analyze intelligence and determine possible threats. Interns will develop strategies and work as part of a team.
Overall, the position offers a way to learn how MI5 protects national security.
After successful completion of the internship, interns will be offered the opportunity to apply for a permanent position with the agency.
Interns accepted as full employees will work as Intelligence Officers in the Intelligence Officer Development Program beginning in Autumn of 2021).
The director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, said that the organization recognizes that protecting the country requires a mix of talented people.
Currently, only 8% of the 4,000 MI5 staff members are from black or ethnic minority groups. 40% are women and a little more than half of the staff are under 40 years old.
The agency says that it tries to recruit from all areas of the UK in order to match the diversity of the country.
According to the MI5 website, the organization strives to provide a healthy work/life balance with flexi-time, job-sharing and compressed hours options. These are some of the ways that the agency claims it promotes the welfare of its staff members.
This is something that the MI6 agency has already embraced. They were named one of the top 75 employers in the UK for promoting social mobility by the Social Mobility Foundation.
The head of the foundation, David Johnston, said that MI6 was aware of the stereotype of who works for them.
They realize that many talented people wouldn’t consider working for them or think that they were even the type of candidate the agency would consider.
MI6 has seen an increase in applicants since the poison attacks in Salisbury last year. They are looking to add 800 new employees themselves over the next two years.
MI5 was originally called the Home Section of the Secret Service Bureau when it was founded in the First World War as part of the War Office.
It was renamed MI5 because it was the fifth branch of the Directorate of Military Intelligence. There were eventually ten MI sections in WWI and seventeen in the Second World War.
All of the sections were either disbanded or rolled into other sections until only MI5 and MI6 remain.
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MI5 was renamed the Security Service in 1931 and MI6 was renamed the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) around 1920. The names MI5 and MI6 are still used for the two organizations.