Civil service in ageism row after advertising job for 'digital natives'

Civil servants have been ordered to stop using the term “digital native” in job applications amid complaints of ageism, The Telegraph understands. 

The Cabinet Office has written to all human resources (HR) directors in central government urging them to avoid the phrase – used to refer to those who have grown up in the digital age. 

The row was sparked by a complaint from Paul Shuttleworth, the 54-year-old, BAFTA-winning editor and producer, who noticed the terms “digital native” and “social media native” repeatedly appeared in government job applications. 

A digital native is defined in the dictionary as somebody who has grown up with the internet – widely agreed to be from the 1980s onwards. 

Mr Shuttleworth, who has worked on television programmes such as The One Show and Bargain Hunt, had been applying for several communications roles last year at the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. All of his applications were rejected. 

After he complained about the language used in job adverts and threatened a judicial review, the Cabinet Office instructed staff to avoid the term.

In an email sent on August 27, a senior figure at the Cabinet Office wrote to all HR directors: “We are aware of the use of terms such as ‘social media native’ or ‘digital native’ within job adverts.

“Whilst such terminology may have been used with good intent, these terms can be ambiguous and may be interpreted unfavourably when applied in the assessment of candidates. The term ‘native’ is not considered useful in setting the parameters of the evaluation of skills or experience.