Meet the civil servant who secured a coveted spot on the Civil Service Fast Stream accelerated development programme at the fourth attempt.
If you'd told Folashade Atiko five years ago she'd be working right at the heart of government and beginning to help shape policies that could impact on all our lives, she simply wouldn't have believed you.
But it's the 28-year-old civil servant's own tenacity, talent and resilience that secured her a spot on the coveted Fast Stream accelerated development programme at the fourth attempt - and she's already seizing the opportunities that it brings.
Since joining the programme's policy scheme, the strategy adviser at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has met senior ministers, provided support in a House of Lords debate and is helping to deliver a UK-wide strategy on social cohesion.
Best of all, she is helping to bring the changes she could only dream about whilst studying for a Masters degree in International Development and Public Health at the University of Sheffield.
"If you'd have told the 'university me' who was writing about these things, that one day I might be advising the government on it, I wouldn't have believed it - but I actually am," she said.
Fast Stream
The Fast Stream is regarded as one of the UK's top employers for graduates, blending workplace learning with formal training and, depending on the scheme, the chance to work towards professional qualifications. One in nine of those who gained a coveted place in 2024 were existing civil servants and they have the chance to become a Grade 7 within three years.
Folashade, who lists two-plus years' supermarket work and a role as a car parking attendant on her pre Civil Service CV, first applied for the programme back in 2020. Whilst two attempts for the Fast Stream were unsuccessful, Folashade did secure a Summer Internship which was extended before joining the Civil Service at the DWP as a policy graduate It was from this role that she applied to the Fast Stream another two times, finally winning a coveted place on her fourth go.
"I did it with a lot of perseverance," she said. "I kept trying until they realised I was the sort of person who should be on the Fast Stream."
And actually gaining that hands-on experience has proved invaluable to Folashade.
"I knew I wanted to be a fast streamer, but I didn't know what they wanted from me to be able to help me get there," she explained.
"But having been in the Civil Service for a bit longer and gaining institutional knowledge, I was more able to put it into practice. It gave me a great foundation. I really would recommend it to existing civil servants."
Broadening horizons
Folashade is driven to make a difference to the lives of others and believes the Fast Stream is helping achieve that goal.
So whilst being involved in meetings that include the highest ministers of state and taking up new opportunities (Folashade even developed a debating pack for minister Lord Khan of Burnley and sat in on his debate at the House of Lords) might add a touch of glamour to her role, she remains firmly grounded.
"As exciting as that really was, I still love the day to day of coming into work, working on really important issues and finding ways to tackle loneliness and loss of community," she said.
A bright future
As well as completing her Masters degree (she joined the Civil Service during that period), Folashade is open to the many varied opportunities open to fast streamers.
"I would definitely like to be in the sort of space where I am now, where the policies I'm helping to design,develop and deliver are almost immediate," she said.
"I definitely want a role where I'm going to work every day to make where I live or where other people live better."
