The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. It has been managed by the Ministry of Defence since 1964. As of mid 2011 the British Army employs 110,210 regulars (which includes the 3,860 Brigade of Gurkhas) and 33,100 territorials for a combined component strength of 143,310 soldiers. In addition there are 121,800 regular reserves of the British Army.
The British Army Graduate Scheme:
The Fast Stream Development Programme offers graduates with exceptional ability a means to make a flying start in the MOD. You have the opportunity for rapid development and accelerated promotion in varied, challenging and fulfilling careers.
There are two Fast Stream Development Programmes in the MOD - one for administrative appointments, the other for engineers and scientists.
There are currently around 100 individuals on the MOD Fast Stream Development Programme. They work in a very broad range of areas experiencing as wide a range of the department as possible while on the Fast Stream, changing posts and working in completely different areas every year in order to do so. Many posts involve some servicing of the department of state function i.e. briefing senior officials and ministers, answering Parliamentary Questions, writing speeches, in whatever area the post is responsible for.
The MOD, unlike many other government departments, has executive responsibility and so actually provides defence, not just the policy on it. Fast Streamers therefore need to develop strong management as well as policy skills. Many areas are joint civilian/military and so working alongside the Services is a common theme. Many posts have the opportunity for extensive travel in the UK, Europe and further a field.
What you need:
35 ALIS points (34 for SCEs) from 7 GCSE/SCE subjects, with a minimum grade C/3 in English language, maths and either a science or a foreign language; plus 180 UCAS Tariff points from at least two A level passes grades A-E or SCE Higher grades A-D.
