Britain’s top spy reveals how teenage school leavers are being recruited to MI6 after the intelligence service cut its minimum age to 18 as espionage adapts to the technological revolution
- MI6 hopes to capture early the hearts and minds of school leavers, aged 18
- Sir Alex Younger invited 30 teenagers from inner London to Vauxhall Cross HQ
- The move comes amidst a period of sweeping technological revolution
- Britain’s most senior intelligence officer told the teenagers they were ‘key’
Sir Alex Younger has today revealed how teenagers are being recruited to MI6 as it cut its minimum age to 18 to attract the ‘best talent’ from across the country.
This unprecedented move by the Secret Intelligence Services comes amidst a background of sweeping technological and geopolitical revolution.
By lowering the minimum age of employment from 21, MI6 hopes to capture the hearts and minds of a generation savvy with modern technology.
SIS invited 30 teenagers from inner London into its Vauxhall Cross HQ to encourage school leavers to apply for a career in British intelligence.
Dispelling false perceptions, such as its exclusive recruitment of Oxbridge graduates, and intelligence officers having a ‘licence to kill’, Sir Alex – known simply as C – told the stunned teenagers: ‘Your generation is key.’
Sir Alex Younger (pictured) told a Q&A session at Vauxhall Cross HQ how MI6 hopes to capture the hearts and minds of a generation savvy with modern technology
According to the Evening Standard, many of the youngsters only realised they were going to an MI6 event when their buses pulled up outside the security gates.
Britain’s teenagers have been propositioned to consider serving as intelligence officers combating threats posed by hostile foreign governments, terrorist organisations, and organised criminal gangs.
They can also apply for posts in tech, business support, HR, and finance, and move from IT support to spy posts if they show the right skills and values.
Sir Alex told the teenagers: ‘We will work hard to stop bad stuff happening and we will be tough. But we are not the same as the people who we are working against.
We do obey the law and we do adhere to the values of our country.
Dispelling false perceptions, such as its exclusive recruitment of Oxbridge graduates, and intelligence officers having a ‘licence to kill’, Sir Alex – known simply as C – told the stunned teenagers: ‘Your generation is key’ (Vauxhall Cross HQ pictured)
‘The way we are going to succeed is by being cleverer, by out-thinking them, by being more creative. We need people who think out of the box.’
Britain’s most senior career intelligence officer claimed the move to broaden its recruitment would help reduce the risk of group-think.
Sir Alex also told the Evening Standard how MI6 hopes to increasingly work with private sector companies to develop the next generation of spy tools.
To work in British intelligence, individuals must be a born or naturalised British citizen, and have lived in the country for eight of the past 10 years. They must also have five GCSEs, Grades A to E, including maths and English language.