Career Growth

New Entrant Orientation (NEO)

The New Entrant Orientation programme begins with a three-day in-person induction at your home site, where you are given a feel for the organisation and how you fit in. We want you to feel a sense of belonging and purpose, and that the role you will do will make a positive impact to the UK's national security.

After the three days, you'll be passed onto your team where you will have access to a range of material to consolidate your learning and find out more about our business. There are also opportunities to attend talks, undertake shadowing with other teams and meet our staff affinity networks.

We also have our New Entrant Onboarding Network which runs a new joiner 'buddy' system and organises interesting talks and 'Coffee Roulette' sessions where you can meet people from across the organisation.

As you continue your journey in the office, there will be a range of other opportunities for you to explore, as well as continuous professional development offers to help you shape your career.

Training and development

Whatever your career path, training and development are at the heart of what MI5 does, and you’ll have the opportunity to gain a wide range of skills. As an Investors in People accredited employer, we’re committed to making sure you’re able to do your job effectively, as well as providing you with access to training and the opportunity for continuous development throughout your career.

We encourage our staff to take responsibility for their careers and personal development, and you’ll work with your manager to make the most of your potential through the opportunities available.

Our internal academy offers a variety of options, from corporate training including IT, communication skills, leadership and management, to more specialist and technical training including investigative and analytical techniques and covert operational training.

Developing our managers is crucial and we run foundation management and leadership programmes to give staff the skills they need to succeed in these areas.

Broader development opportunities include lunchtime talks from guest speakers, language training facilities, sponsorship for further education and development days which you can use to study or get involved in activities away from the workplace that help you do your job.