Can you find it?

BAA RAM EWE

https://canyoufindit.co.uk/

Last year, GCHQ created a groundbreaking challenge, which asked ‘Can You Crack It’.

Now in 2013, we are asking Can You Find It?
Our new challenge is to find and solve 5 codes we have hidden around the web. For anyone able to rise to the challenge and find all the codes, you’ll join an elite community of people with some of the specific skills we look for at GCHQ.


We also have some great prizes. You can win 1 of 100 Raspberry Pi or 1 of 5 Google Nexus 7 tablets.

AWVLI QIQVT QOSQO ELGCV IIQWD LCUQE EOENN WWOAO LTDNU QTGAW TSMDO QTLAO QSDCH PQQIQ DQQTQ OOTUD BNIQH BHHTD UTEET FDUEA UMORE SQEQE MLTME TIREC LICAI QATUN QRALT ENEIN RKG

syklops

I did the code they did last year, and after all the "You'll join an elite team stuff, it turns out you will only get an invitation for an interview if you are a British citizen. They wont even arrange citizenship for you, you have to go do it yourself and get back to them. And they wonder why they have a skills shortage. :rolleyes:

You can win 1 of 100 Raspberry Pi

I have three on my desk in work. at 35 quid its not exactly technology unreachable to the masses.

Wendolene

syklops wrote: »

I did the code they did last year, and after all the "You'll join an elite team stuff, it turns out you will only get an invitation for an interview if you are a British citizen. They wont even arrange citizenship for you, you have to go do it yourself and get back to them. And they wonder why they have a skills shortage. :rolleyes:

In all fairness, citizenship is a pretty significant consideration for national spook organisations. Understandably IMO, they tend to be reluctant to allow Johnny-From-Anywhere-At-All inside their hallowed walls. I mean, who know's who'd be applying. :eek:

Publicising a skills shortage has more to do with giving a meaningful and attainable target to the UK Gov's efforts at promoting STEM subjects in school. The UK has similar problems to us with decreasing uptake of those subjects at senior secondary level ( Leaving Cert / A-Level ) and university ... although we don't have a shiny doughnut-shaped building to house some of our civil servants

As for arranging citizenship for you, well, if you're sufficiently committed to serving a particular nation's national security then you'll be sufficiently motivated to become a citizen of theirs ... wouldn't you ? :rolleyes:

syklops

Wendolene wrote: »

In all fairness, citizenship is a pretty significant consideration for national spook organisations. Understandably IMO, they tend to be reluctant to allow Johnny-From-Anywhere-At-All inside their hallowed walls. I mean, who know's who'd be applying. :eek:

So background checks done by the UK Border Agency are more thorough and more reliable than the Security Services own background checks? I seriously doubt that. Its a public service job and there, just like here you have to tick certain boxes to work in the public service. Applicants could be from anywhere? I know. God forbid they might be talented.

As for arranging citizenship for you, well, if you're sufficiently committed to serving a particular nation's national security then you'll be sufficiently motivated to become a citizen of theirs ... wouldn't you ? :rolleyes

That sounded like a serious comment until the rolleyes. It is common in the private sector if citizenship is needed for the job and the applicant does not have the required citizenship for them to assist with obtaining citizenship. It has happened in a number of places I have worked. That their skills shortage is so bad that a highly secret government organisation is publicly advertising for potential candidates, it seems strange that they would arbitrarily not allow citizens from even allied countries(I know we are not allied, but the case would be the same).

Wendolene

syklops wrote: »

So background checks done by the UK Border Agency are more thorough and more reliable than the Security Services own background checks? I seriously doubt that.

So do I ... and that's not what I said.

syklops wrote: »

Its a public service job and there, just like here you have to tick certain boxes to work in the public service. Applicants could be from anywhere? I know. God forbid they might be talented.

Indeed. Talent is just one of many considerations. National security organisations also have to be extremely mindful of an applicant's motivation - irrespective of their talent - and citizenship (duration of, nature of award, multiplicity of) comes into the mix then.

How long has the applicant been a citizen? How did they receive citizenship - by birth, or by naturalisation? Are they citizens of more than just $our_nation? Of which other nations are they citizens? What personal interests / contacts do they still maintain with the land of their additional citizenship? How do we know "they'll bat for us"?

syklops wrote: »

That sounded like a serious comment until the rolleyes. It is common in the private sector if citizenship is needed for the job and the applicant does not have the required citizenship for them to assist with obtaining citizenship. It has happened in a number of places I have worked. That their skills shortage is so bad that a highly secret government organisation is publicly advertising for potential candidates, it seems strange that they would arbitrarily not allow citizens from even allied countries(I know we are not allied, but the case would be the same).

It was a serious comment. Sensitive government orgs like to see that a candidate has jumped through hoops for them ... or <cough> for the nation. While it may be in the interests of a private sector org to make the running on (or assist with) a citizenship application, there's no imperative on a public sector org to assist similarly with helping someone achieve a government requirement.

Add in the sensitivity of the workload performed by that public sector org, and any such assistance would mitigate directly against assessing a candidate against any sensitivity criteria. Hence, for sensitive public sector jobs, it's left up to the candidate to demonstrate their suitability in the area of citizenship.