Movie Review: ‘Skyfall’ | Movies & TV | Arts & Entertainment | Epoch Times

The real MI6 - no gadgets, no martinis, no Bond Spies hit by lack of money pennies The world of James Bond may look glamorous from the outside. But inside MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, there have been signs that retaining staff is not easy. Speaking before a committee of MPs this year, Sir John Sawers, chief of the SIS, said retaining personnel was becoming a problem for the security and intelligence agencies – MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – “and that is a reflection on the increasing problem we face about the pay and conditions that we can offer staff”. Sir John said: “People are less likely to go the extra mile and do the more dangerous thing or take that added level of risk if they feel that they are not being recognised for it and that their rewards are somehow inadequate. We need to find a way . . . to improve the recognition and the reward to people.” The SIS is once again to mount a public recruiting drive to find staff. One of the biggest problems is that many potential candidates assume they would be recruited only by a tap on the shoulder from an Oxbridge tutor. Finding the right candidates – who have a high level of security clearance and the right set of skills – is difficult. Given these problems, MI6 is being much more open in its recruiting, with advertisements in newspapers and on its website. Some former officers say morale and job satisfaction levels are still very high at MI6. However, challenges remain. Only 12 per cent of its senior executive staff are women, a lower proportion than at its two sister services, MI5 and GCHQ, the government’s listening post. “We do have a serious diversity problem in SIS,” Sir John said this year. Movie Review: ‘Skyfall’ | Movies & TV | Arts & Entertainment | Epoch Times