career bureaucrats; elite civil servants
Refers to high-level civil servants who entered through the competitive career-track exam, as opposed to non-career (ノンキャリア) staff. Often used in the context of Japanese government ministries.
He joined the Ministry of Finance as a career bureaucrat.
There is a difference in promotion between career and non-career civil servants.
Compound of キャリア (career) + 組 (group, class). The term is specific to Japanese bureaucratic culture.