Labour restricts civil service internships to the working class - with children of plumbers, receptionists and van drivers among eligible
Applications will be limited to those from 'lower-socio economic backgrounds' - determined by what jobs their parents held when they were 14 years old.
Children of plumbers, receptionists and van drivers are among those who will be eligible for the scheme, which replaces the current civil service internship programme.
Ministers hope the change will lead to more working class applicants getting a place on the Fast Stream - the main graduate programme for the civil service.
They say it will lead to Whitehall better reflecting the country it serves.
But the plan was criticised by the Tories.
Claire Coutinho, shadow equalities spokeswoman, told the Mail: 'The civil service will decide who will get the opportunity of an internship based on whether they deem their parents' occupation worthy - handing out opportunity based on something completely out of a young person's control.
'We used to call that discrimination, but under these new civil service rules it will be called 'progress'.
'The civil service is too closed but they should do the hard work of fixing their culture, rather than tokenistic identity politics.'
Julian Jessop, an economist, tweeted: ''Civil service interns must all be working class, government says'.
'Or maybe you just select on merit and try to address the productivity crisis in public services, rather than use internships as a tool of social engineering and petty class politics…'
But Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said getting more people from working class backgrounds into the civil service would help the government make better decisions.
'We need to get more working class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country. Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.
'I want to open up opportunities for students from all backgrounds, and in every corner of the UK, so they can take a leading role at the heart of government as we re-wire the state and deliver the Plan for Change.'
The internship scheme, which is paid, will give around 200 undergraduates the opportunity to work in a Government department for two months.
They will get experience planning events, writing briefing notes for ministers and shadowing senior civil servants.
Those who perform well will then be fast-tracked to the final stages of the Fast Stream selection process if they decide to apply for a job after graduating from university.
It will open for application in October, with the first cohort starting in summer 2026.
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