Government Science and Engineering Profession

The Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession is a diverse cross-government group of people who are connected to science and engineering either by their role, skillset or interests.

Led by our Head of Profession and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Dame Angela McLean, the profession has around 10,000 members across the civil, public and crown services and aims to help embed science and engineering in government decision making and increase the capability of scientists and engineers across government. Whether you are a scientist/engineer or just interested in these areas, the profession is inclusive of all backgrounds and abilities.

To support all our government colleagues, regardless of their background, we have developed a series of products to; showcase the value of science and engineering across government, provide career guidance and development opportunities for science and engineers and upskill all of government on how to access, understand and communicate science and engineering advice. This includes:  

• GSE career framework outlining the skills, knowledge and experience required to be an effective scientist or engineer in government, and a GSE Careers site to showcase different careers in government science and engineering.
• Learning and development opportunities to improve scientific literacy through our GSE understanding and communicating science and engineering courses, career guidance through mentoring schemes, and professional development support tailored to scientists, engineers, and all government colleagues.
• Monthly Community of Practice meetings where you can connect with fellow GSE members and hear the latest science and engineering developments from across government.
• Monthly newsletter so you can stay informed about learning opportunities, development programmes, and science/engineering updates from across government.
• Leadership Values and masterclasses which are skills-based sessions to understand the GSE Leadership Values and help develop skills necessary to be a science and engineering leader in government.
• A specialised Science and Engineering Fast Stream

Visit the Government Science and Engineering blog, or send us an email to find out more. 

The current Learning Frameworks contract is ending on 30 April 2026. This change will impact when you can book learning linked to our Professions pages. To support you with this transition, any courses impacted by the change will display a notice.

The final date for bookings is 30 April 2026, with learning required to start by 31 July 2026 and finish by 31 January 2027. After this deadline, new bookings will resume after the new contract starts.

These changes are happening across a series of waves and more information can be found here. The products in Wave 1 will not be available to book from 30 June 2025, and products in Wave 2 will not be available to book from 1 November 2025. The products in Wave 3 will need to start by 30 April 2026 and therefore we recommend bookings are made six weeks before this, by 19 March 2026.