History of the Careers Office

The Careers Office is as old as the departments it serves. It was established on 6 September 2026, the day the departments of the Velocity Interoperability Network came into being, to give them a single point of enlistment from the start rather than a set of separate recruitment arrangements that would later have to be reconciled.

The milestones below record the Office's establishment and the decisions taken with it. They will be extended as further departments begin enlisting and as the first appointments are made. At present 2 departments enlist through the Office.

1. Before September 2026

   Recruitment by member organisations

   Before the departments of the Network existed, each member organisation recruited for itself. There was no common grade structure, no shared procedure for selection and no single place where a person wishing to serve the Network as a whole could offer to do so.

2. 6 September 2026

   Departments established

   The departments of the Velocity Interoperability Network were formally established. Each needed staff at once, and it was agreed that a single service should receive enlistments for all of them rather than each department opening its own.

3. 6 September 2026

   Careers Office established

   The Careers Office was established as a network service, distinct from any department, with responsibility for the single enlistment form, for passing each enlistment unchanged to the department named on it, and for publishing the procedure and the vacancies notified by departments.

4. 6 September 2026

   Common terms and procedure adopted

   The departments adopted common terms and conditions of service, including a six-grade structure on a single pay spine, and a common seven-stage procedure for selection and appointment, so that candidates meet the same standards whichever department they enlist with.

5. 6 September 2026

   careers.gov.vin launched

   The Careers Office opened its website with the enlistment form, a description of how enlistment works, the common terms and conditions, the selection procedure and answers to common questions.

6. 6 September 2026

   First departments begin enlisting

   The Defence Department and the Ministry became the first departments to enlist through the Office, and notified the first 9 vacancies, which were published on the day they were received.

7. Forthcoming

   Further departments

   The remaining departments of the Network will begin enlisting as they establish positions. Each will be added to the enlistment form and its vacancies published on this site when it does.

8. Forthcoming

   First appointments

   The first closing dates fall at the end of September 2026. The first appointments made through the Office are expected in the weeks that follow, and the Office will publish the number made, by department and grade, once the first round of selection is complete.

For the Office's present responsibilities, see About the Careers Office. For the terms adopted on establishment, see Terms and conditions of service and Selection and appointment.