The Scheme

With a new, bigger remit for procurement we've identified the need for a new route of entry for procurement professionals, and an innovative learning and development approach to equip them for roles on which so much of our future success depends. The Government Procurement Graduate Scheme was launched in 2007, and recruited 14 trainees who have been working in nine participating departments since September 2007. We are aiming to repeat this successful recruitment exercise this year.

You will spend your two years in the scheme in front-line procurement, as a member of one of the departments participating in this initiative in 2008 - and who will welcome your own ideas: they include Ministry of Justice, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Work and Pensions. As you move around you will discover the cultural nuances between departments - but also the public service ethic that drives and unites everyone you'll work with. You can expect to be exposed to the full range of activities involved in the commercial cycle of procurement. In one department, you could be working on a major project from start to finish.

As a procurement trainee you will be put through an accelerated two-year development process including, in your second year, external placements in a range of central government departments or agencies as well as formal training. The expectation is that as a trainee you will work towards membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and can expect to be promoted on successful completion of the scheme.

In time, we anticipate that you could be controlling the procurement efforts of a major government department or project. We envisage GPGS trainees becoming the Heads of Procurement or Commercial Directors of tomorrow.

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