The search has begun for at least 120 graduates to join HM Revenue and Customs as tax trainees.

The graduates will join a specially-designed four-year tax professional development programme, gaining skills across all of HMRC’s activities, including working with specialist teams investigating tax fraud, unravelling complex tax avoidance schemes, looking at the tax affairs of big businesses, while also gaining general business skills.

Last year, one student from Blackburn College was among the 16,000 who applied for the scheme.

The organisation said it was hoping to attract more people from East Lancashire this year.

Edward Troup, tax assurance commissioner and second permanent secretary at HMRC, said: “One day you could be working on criminal investigations or statistical forecasting, the next you might be challenging an avoidance scheme from a blue chip company. For information on how to apply, visit www.gov.uk/hmrc/graduates Applications close on 29 November.