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Darlington College hosts launch as the Treasury moves hundreds of jobs north

HUNDREDS of job vacancies are going online as the powerhouse of government opens an ‘economic campus’ in the North in an innovative approach to transforming people’s lives.

For the first time in its 300-year history, the Treasury, considered the very heart of Government, is relocating hundreds of jobs to Darlington to share the campus with other key departments.

Also part of the Darlington Economic Campus will be the Office of National Statistics, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Representatives staged a launch event, complete with workshops and a panel of experts, at Darlington College offering an insight into myriad opportunities available in a new-look Civil Service based in the North.

Minister of State at the Cabinet Office and the Treasury Lord Theodore Agnew told about 60 guests with another 80 watching online: “It is important to understand the size of this change. The Treasury is 300-years-old and this is the first time it has moved outside London.

“There are 450,000 people in the Civil Service and only one per cent are senior positions and it is really important that we have senior people on this campus as this sends out a powerful message. This is going to be a place where decisions are made.”

He said the historic move was also recognition that talent existed everywhere in the country not just in London. “Around 68 per cent of civil servants jobs are in London, which is wrong, and this is going to change,” Lord Agnew said.

“We are talking about cognitive diversity – people thinking differently. Different people bring different things to the conversation and this campus will be instrumental in changing this. This is the first time that important departments will be together on one campus which will improve policy making.”

A panel of senior civil servants from each department talked about their lives and aspirations for the future before taking questions from the floor and a virtual audience of more than 80 people.

Treasury director general Beth Russell, who has relocated from London to Darlington, said: “We are incredibly excited to be setting up the campus and will be recruiting from entry level, apprentices and graduates to mid-career and senior managers.”

A brand new website – darlingtoneconomiccampusjobs.co.uk – has gone live posting vacancies across the campus departments.

In a message of support for the venture the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “For too long too many important decisions have been made from one place. Darlington Economic Campus is part of a strategy to move thousands of jobs out of the South East and across the country. Each department is at the careers fair with information on the exciting range of roles where you can start, continue and grow your career in Darlington.”

Darlington College principal Kate Roe said: “This is an innovative new approach to government and we are thrilled to be at the heart of it today. The Civil Service is involved in an incredibly diverse and fascinating range of work that makes a huge difference to the people of this country. Opportunities for careers for the people of this region will be boundless.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah French .