Teens join MI6 in battle to stay ahead in new technology race

EXCLUSIVE: Minimum age cut from 21 to 18
Spies like us: teenagers with MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger at an event at the Secret Intelligence Service's HQ

Britain's top spy Sir Alex Younger today told how teenagers are being recruited to MI6 as it battles to stay ahead in a new technology race.

The Secret Intelligence Service has cut the minimum employment age from 21 to 18 as it seeks to attract the “best talent” from all social backgrounds across the UK.

They could later switch to being intelligence officers combating threats from hostile states, terror groups and major crime gangs if they show the appropriate skills, values and attitude.

School leavers, once they are 18, can apply for posts in areas such as tech, business support, trades, finance and human resources. They could also move from IT support jobs to spy tech posts as their career progresses.

The service’s new recruitment ad

In an unprecedented move, SIS invited 30 teenagers from inner London into its Vauxhall Cross HQ to explain what it does and break down false perceptions, such as it only recruits Oxbridge-educated graduates with a tap on the shoulder and intelligence officers have a “licence to kill”.

With espionage having to rapidly adapt to the technological revolution, Sir Alex, who is known as “C”, told the 14 to 19-year-olds: “Your generation is key.”

He added: “We are in a time of dynamic change and the relationship particularly with technology is going to be the thing that gives us our edge in the future.”

Many of the teenagers only realised they were going to the MI6 event, organised with youth charity the BIGKID Foundation, when their minibuses pulled up at the security gates.

One of the roles already being advertised for people as young as 18 is business support officer, with a salary of £29,832, which may involve providing admin support to a “spying team”, possibly accompanying it on overseas trips.

To apply, individuals also have to be a born or naturalised British citizen and have lived in the UK for eight of the past 10 years.

They must have at least five GCSEs, Grades A to E, including maths and English language Grades A to C or equivalent. Telling the teenagers that MI6 officers do not have a “licence to kill”, unlike James Bond, Sir Alex said: “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. 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.”

He emphasised that younger generations “live” technology, so could bring new skills to the service which is seeking to broaden its recruitment to bolster its problem-solving capabilities and reduce the risk of group-think.

In a Q&A session with the teenagers, Sir Alex explained that sometimes SIS officers put themselves at physical risk in dangerous parts of the world, though strenuous efforts were made to minimise this.

Edson, 19, said: “It’s been a reality check. Before today I would not have known about all these jobs and how it is a click away from applying.”

Sir Alex also told how the service is increasingly seeking to work with private sector companies to develop the next generation of spy tools, with an £85 million National Security Strategic Investment Fund.

“That is where we are going to get a lot of our innovation and cool kit in the future,” he added.

Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast: