With the election on everybody's mind I thought it would be useful to have a look some of the different ways of working in Politics:

Become an MP. To become a Members of Parliament you do not need to have any specific qualifications, other than you must be at least 18, and be a citizen of Britain, a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland.

Most M.P's become involved  in politics through allegiance to a particular political party and they work their way up within that party, by campaigning with the party, often initially on a voluntary basis. Most M.P's will have had other careers before becoming involved in politics. Sometimes people get involved in local politics, e.g becoming a town Councillor or Mayor, before becoming an M.P.

For more information see: www.parliament.uk

Working in Parliament. 1000's of people work at Parliament and  it is possible to work for the House of Commons or the House of Lords or the Parliamentary Digital Service and each has their own recruitment processes. It is also possible to work for individual MP's and they directly employ all of their staff, just as a small business does.

There is also an apprenticeship scheme with in Parliament called the The Parliamentary Academy Scheme. This is a paid apprenticeship that is available to 16-24 year olds who have not got a university qualification. It involves working in the office of a M.P whilst also going to college to gain relevant qualifications

For more information see: www.parliament.uk and www.parliamentaryacademy.com

Work for the Civil Service. They do the practical and administrative work of the government. They run the major government departments such as the Department of work and pensions and the Ministry of Justice.  

There are lots of jobs at all levels within the Civil Service and for graduates they run very popular Fast Stream programme and graduates could end up working in areas such as the economy, foreign affairs, the environment and many more

For more information see: www.gov.uk 

Sources: www.parliament.uk; www.gov.uk; www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk