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https://dwpdigital.blog.gov.uk/2017/10/27/the-futures-on-our-doorstep/

The future’s on our doorstep

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: DWP Digital

I’m Linda Newton, a Delivery Support Manager at DWP Digital.  Along with my colleagues Carl Hoggins and Stephen Blakely, I recently attended a career fair at Heaton Manor School – a secondary school and sixth form located about half a mile from our Newcastle digital hub.

Linda, Carl and Stephen
Linda, Carl and Stephen

Building on the success of our visit to Berwick Academy and our Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) events in summer, we wanted to continue on our mission to inspire students to consider a career in digital, data and technology - particularly in DWP Digital. And this time we were joined by colleagues from HMRC, to give a cross-departmental view of the opportunities available.

Keeping us on our toes

It was a large event, with more than a thousand pupils attending – including some from the final year of a local primary school – which meant that from the moment the doors opened, we were inundated with visitors to our stand.

Lots of visitors to the stand
Lots of visitors came to the stand

As always, the kids kept us on our toes with lots of challenging questions! We aimed to promote the wide range of digital roles in government, as well as focusing on what DWP does.  We spoke a lot about the various apprenticeships available, which seemed to really interest the older pupils who were thinking about their next steps after school.

The interactive session and coding demo were really well received and demonstrated some of the incredible digital skills that the next generation possess.  It never fails to impress me – all this future talent right on our doorstep!

DWP Digital and HMRC colleagues
We teamed up with colleagues from HMRC

It was a long and tiring day, but definitely well worth it.  The pupils were genuinely engaged with what we have to offer and we got lots of great feedback from children and teachers alike. A number of students came up at the end of the day to say they’d definitely consider a career at DWP Digital.

We’re hoping to continue doing events like this and inspiring the next generation to consider career paths they might not have ordinarily considered.  Employment of digital specialists is growing so much faster than other UK professions, so it’s important that the supply keeps up with demand!

If you’re interested in working at DWP Digital, you can find out what opportunities we currently have by following us on Twitter @DWPDigital, and viewing our latest jobs.

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3 comments

  1. Comment by Fiona Mawdsley posted on

    Sounds like a great day Linda !

  2. Comment by Alex Hutchinson posted on

    Hi Linda, do you offer these events across the North East region? All schools should have the opportunity to hear your message. Great work!

    • Replies to Alex Hutchinson>

      Comment by Linda Newton posted on

      Hi Alex - thanks for your query. The short answer is - yes! If a school was to get in touch, we'd consider the offer and accept accordingly.