Statistics University Student Placements

This advert is for year-long statistics university student placements, to commence in summer 2025. There are multiple posts available.

Please note that this scheme is only open to undergraduate students currently in their second year of study, looking to undertake a year-long placement commencing Summer 2025 before returning to complete their degree OR to postgraduate students who have a year-long placement built into their postgraduate degree scheme which they are looking to undertake Summer 2025-Summer 2026. Graduates should not apply.

The role of Welsh Government statisticians is to support decision-making, resource allocation, research and debate within government and the wider community by providing reliable and efficient statistical services. A wide range of topics are covered by Welsh Government statisticians including education, health, housing, poverty, social justice, industry, the economy, local government, transport, the environment, agriculture, demography and the Welsh language. Most of our statisticians work together in a central hub of analysts known as Knowledge and Analytical Services; however there are also a small number of statistical teams "outbedded” within Welsh Government policy departments.

We encourage you to browse our website to understand the work that we do and the types of statistical publications successful applicants may be involved in producing: https://gov.wales/statistics-and-research

Key Tasks

The key tasks will be defined by the specific projects that the successful candidate is required to carry out. Examples will include the following:

• Preparation of statistical reports, drawing out key messages, identifying trends and writing insightful commentary that tells the story with data.
• Development of data visualisations and statistical tables to help illustrate messages in data.
• Answering requests for data and analysis from a variety of internal and external sources.
• Data management and manipulation, including efficient storage of data and automation of statistical processes.
• Data validation and quality assurance of statistical outputs

Development Opportunities

The successful candidates will obtain a wide experience of statistical work, learning about the environment in which data are managed and statistics are produced. The post-holder will work closely with and be mentored by experienced statistical staff and have access to specific and on-the-job training, for example in respect of IT skills such as MS-Excel, SQL and R.

Benefits

• Full-time employees are entitled to 31 days annual leave, plus 10 public and privilege days’ leave.
• Hybrid working from any of our offices around Wales. See our list of office locations.
• Flexible working hours.
• One hour per week to dedicate to your own well-being (for example you could take a walk, go to the gym, read a book, crochet… the choice is yours).
• Membership of the Government Student Network
• Access to a wide range of training courses to aid your continuous professional development.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be required to upload a “statement of suitability” (personal statement) and a copy of your CV. Your CV should cover details of education and professional qualifications, employment history and relevant skills and experience. In your statement of suitability, please provide evidence against each of the three civil service behaviours and three technical skills stated in this advert:

• Communicating and Influencing – Communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing (assessed via application form and presentation at interview).
• Working Together – Proactively contribute to the work of the whole team and remain open to taking on new and different roles (assessed via application form and interview question).
• Delivering at Pace – Always work with focus and pace to get the job done on time and to a high standard (assessed via application form and interview question).
• Technical 1 – Ability to develop and apply knowledge in the analysis and quality assurance of data and the production of statistical outputs (assessed via application form and interview question).
• Technical 2 – A good working knowledge of at least one statistical package or programming language (e.g. MS-Excel, SQL, R, Python) (assessed via application form and interview question).
• Technical 3 – A university student studying for a degree in a numerate discipline (such as statistics, data science, mathematics, economics, psychology or geography) whose degree contains a statistical element. You must either be an undergraduate student, currently in your second year of study, looking to undertake a year-long placement commencing Summer 2024 OR a postgraduate student with a year-long placement built into your postgraduate degree scheme which you are looking to undertake Summer 2024 – Summer 2025 (assessed via application form and statistics and numeracy ability test).

Max word count = 1,500. As a guide, we recommend that you aim to write 250 words for each. Using the “STAR technique” may help you to structure your evidence. For “Technical 3”, you should state the name of your degree scheme and describe the statistical elements you have studied.

To reduce bias within the application process, we will be sifting candidate evidence without identifiers, so please do not include any information that could identify you within your evidence. This includes your name and the name of the institution where you are studying.

All candidates who have submitted an application by the deadline will be invited to undertake a multiple choice test at 14:00 on 20/11/2024. The test is designed to test your numeracy and statistical knowledge. You will be sent an email with a link to the test. It is a timed test and must be completed and returned via email by 15:00 on 20/11/2024. Only those who pass the test will progress to the application form sift. It is not expected that you will need to revise for the test. If you do not receive a copy of the test at the time specified, please email statscareers1@gov.wales immediately.

Those candidates who pass both the multiple choice test and application sift will be invited to an online interview. The online interview will take place over Microsoft Teams. The interview will be using various assessment techniques aligned to the Civil Service Success Profiles framework. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. Situational style questions (what would you do if… ?) and past style questions experience (can you give me an example of time when…?) will be used to assess the specified civil service behaviours. In addition, you will also be asked technical questions relevant to the role.

Want to find out more?

To help explain the application process and answer any questions about our Statistics University Student Placement positions, we will be hosting two MS Teams Webinars.

Join on your computer or mobile app by clicking on one of the following links:

12:00-12:30 on 22/10/2024: Click here to join the meeting

15:00-15:30 on 05/11/2024: Click here to join the meeting