From T-Level student to digital apprentice
Lucas and Joshua joined DWP Digital as part of a T-level placement in collaboration with Blackpool and The Fylde College and Sunderland College. Since starting their placements, they have both been successful in securing apprenticeships in Project Management and Software Engineering.
Lucas’ journey
Lucas was studying Business Management Administration at Blackpool and The Fylde College. He first heard of our work placement programme from his college tutor.
During my placement I have worked across three different areas of the business. This has allowed me to gain insight of the different roles within DWP Digital. This has supported me in building varied experience whilst upskilling in different areas, but the best part is the number of internal stakeholders I have networked with gaining invaluable knowledge.
Everyone I speak to provides amazing advice and support with my work, if I ever feel stuck and with mentoring and coaching. My line manager and head of role both keep me well informed of all the training and courses that are available and are very accommodating with time to build my skills and CV.
Skills for life
As I continue the Social Mobility Apprenticeship programme, I am very excited for the next step in my career. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to rotate between three teams which is a great way to understand a particular job role you may want to progress in.
To anyone considering an apprenticeship with DWP Digital, I say DO IT! You get the best of both worlds, your learning costs are covered, so you can earn while you learn lifelong skills. It’s a great way to start, change or level up your career, as degrees and courses can be expensive and time consuming. I personally feel T-Levels and apprenticeships are a great way to get a head start on your career compared to other alternatives.
Joshua’s journey
Joshua was a T-Level student at Sunderland College when the work placement programme with DWP Digital was advertised. He has since completed his placement and has started as a social mobility apprentice.
DWP Digital felt like the most fulfilling employer as it is a well-known name. I’d heard from several people that DWP Digital was a great employer and working in the civil service was rewarding, and they were right. The support on the placement has been excellent and line managers were very friendly. They always kept in contact and are happy to help with any concerns and challenges which made me feel I was learning in a supportive environment.
The best part of my placement was the opportunity to work in a large office environment and experience DWP Digital’s culture. Although I worked as part of a wider team, everything was scheduled, well communicated and organised, which is the same experience I had moving over to the Software Engineering apprenticeship.
Developing our people
Moving onto my apprenticeship programme I’ve noticed a more experience focused approach than the T-Level placement had. During placement, I worked on smaller example tickets or a single file, such as writing microservices or debugging existing code to streamline a file or bring it to DWP standards. On the apprenticeship programme I have completed coding challenges and will be placed on a team working on small tickets to add to my portfolio. I have also completed further training in coding including the Makers Software Engineering Bootcamp.
As I continue with my apprenticeship, I look forward to increasing my knowledge on; coding skills, coding process such as pipelines, and working effectively in a team when it comes to coding, such as agile practices and working cooperatively.
My advice for anyone on a T-Level placement or apprenticeship with DWP Digital is to focus on connections wherever you are working. DWP Digital have very experienced colleagues at all levels and finding out how they operate within their workplace can help you fit in smoothly and feel more integrated.
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