The UK needs 100,000 new graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects every year. But currently only 6% of the workforce in STEM related subjects are female. Research conducted by the Welsh government has shown that a staggering 93% of parents would not support their daughter to pursue a career in a STEM subject. But, when asked at school, 39% of girls said they enjoy Information Technology, Computing and Design Technology.

Employing around 5,000 people in Swansea, DVLA was one of the first government departments to bring its IT function ‘in house’ and has one of the largest self-sufficient IT departments in government. This puts us in a perfect position to share our knowledge and expertise with the up-and-coming generations, to try and encourage a culture change that will get more women into IT roles.

Bring your daughter to work

We’ve recently introduced a ‘bring your daughter to work’ day. Here we aim to close the gender gap in IT by inviting staff to bring their daughters to work in a bid to spark interest from girls to consider a career in IT.

We want to encourage girls, who often give up on IT once they join secondary school, to keep going with STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and add them to their choices for exams as they go through secondary school.

DVLA’s chief technology officer Brian Sullivan said:

“We’re well aware that there are more men than women working in the IT sector and this is just one of the ways in which we are trying to change that here in Swansea.

“If we can encourage more girls to take an interest from an early age, in 10 years we will have more local women qualified and ready for a career in IT. It would be great to see them working here at DVLA.”

Other initiatives

‘Bring your daughter to work’ is just one of our initiatives in this space. We also run events where all children aged 11 to 13 are invited to spend the day at DVLA and try some fun coding activities, learn about new technologies and pick up some new skills along the way.

All content is age appropriate, light and interactive where possible. At the end of the day there’s a topical, fun quiz based on the learning gained from the day, with prizes too – always a hit with the children.

Some feedback we’ve had from the children, teachers and parents:

“It was really good and a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.”

“I thought we were going to be sat at computers and that it would be a bit boring, but it’s been really fun. The activities were very good.”

“Good presentation. Activities were fun and pitched at the right level. The children were engaged throughout.”

“In the future these skills will be used back at school for coding tasks.”

“I think it was a great experience & should be rolled out for all schools.”

“Must have listened well as she told me about it after the day!”

This feedback is a good indicator that we were able to inspire participants to want to continue their learning journey. It certainly meets with our vision of investing in digital skills.

What’s coming next

Capability and Talent Development Lead, Karen Clark said, “Our aim is to ensure that as an agency, we continue to support and grow the digital skills of young people in the local region and this is a brilliant opportunity to inspire the next generation.

Along with promoting the learning of STEM subjects, this is a great way for us to position DVLA as a leading digital and technology employer and a great place to work for future generations.”

You can read about what it’s like to work at DVLA and take a look at our latest vacancies on Civil Service jobs.

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Reducing our carbon footprint is a great way to save money, boost staff morale and lessen our impact on the environment. But applying this to a business takes a bit more thought than remembering to separate plastic from paper.

The new contract

We recently awarded a new ITS waste contract to a local supplier that offers a complete asset management process. This includes data cleansing, repairing and refurbishing old IT equipment.

The contract includes the option of selling our IT kit back to the private sector and, where possible, clawing revenue back in to the public purse.

Through this new contract we have reduced our destruction costs to zero, making an instant annual saving of £62,000.

How we do it

Our IT kit is carefully wiped of all data to make sure that everything is removed before it leaves DVLA.

It is then collected by the supplier and placed on a production line, where a physical check is carried out to check for any damage. Each element is given a monetary value, before being cleaned up and sent for resale or donation.

Where it all goes

We have a history of donating IT equipment to local schools, voluntary and charitable organisations through our sustainability team. Laptops, desktops and other redundant IT equipment have also been donated to schools in Zambia as part of the Giakonda project and to the Sponsoring Academic and Medical Access charity.

Laptops have also been reused through our ITS DRIIVE programme. We were able to identify which schools in the local Swansea area would benefit most from our old equipment by working with the Welsh Assembly.

Why it matters

Awarding this contract means we are closer than ever to achieving the goals as set out in our sustainability report.

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One of DVLA’s primary functions is to collect vehicle tax on behalf of the Treasury. Most vehicle keepers tax their vehicle when they should – over 98% did the right thing at the last count. We do lots of things to help remind vehicle keepers when their vehicle tax is due, such as millions of postal reminders every year, providing quick and easy to use digital services and targeted communications campaigns.

Despite all this, some motorists still don’t tax their vehicles and continue to drive them on the road. This is where we come in. Our role is to spot untaxed vehicles and take action against them.

How we do it

I work with a fantastic team that makes these enforcement measures happen.

We’ve been really busy since we last blogged about this. We’ve stepped up our enforcement activities with our partners such as local councils and the police in all parts of the country. No matter where you live, we take action against those who don’t tax.

A range of measures, such as fines and penalties, stickers, wheel clamping and communications designed to change behaviour, are having a positive effect in combating tax evasion.

If you’re caught without tax, it’s expensive, inconvenient and just not worth it. When DVLA clamps an untaxed vehicle the motorist is charged a £100 release fee. If they cannot show the vehicle has been taxed when it’s released, the motorist will have to pay a surety fee of £160. This is refunded if the motorist can show the vehicle has been taxed within 15 days.

If the release fee’s not paid within 24 hours, DVLA impounds the vehicle and the fee rises to £200. There’s also a storage charge of £21 per day. Again, a surety fee of £160 must be paid if the motorist cannot show that the vehicle’s been taxed.

Motorists who choose to evade tax take a very real risk of losing their cars, as well as the potential of multiple financial penalties.

Getting the message out there

As well as the hard graft we put in on the road every day, our communications team ran a locally targeted communications campaign in each of the locations of the UK where vehicle tax evasion is highest. Adverts ran on lots of different channels including radio, print, online and social media. This helped to reach those who have avoided, or might be thinking of avoiding, their vehicle tax.

My teams are always out across the country but we’ll be well supported by the communications once again when the advertising resumes in the areas we’ll be in.

The message is clear to all those who continue not paying their vehicle tax – tax it or lose it.

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I’m delighted to join a vibrant working environment with such great people.

We are a multi-channel customer service provider with around 1,100 staff handling over 24.5 million enquiries a year. The strong leadership and excellent people development that exists is second to none. I think our vision says it all:

To be a centre of excellence in everything we do

Award winning customer service

We recently received Customer Contact Association (CCA) accreditation for the 12th consecutive year, this time successfully obtaining CCA Global Standard Version 7.

To support our accreditation independent external assessors met with staff, senior leaders and key stakeholders to benchmark our operation against the CCA standards.

Continuous focus on customer experience, strong processes, staff development and engagement were key strengths highlighted by the CCA in their assessment.

This achievement follows on from our recent success at the CCA Excellence Awards, where we picked up Team of the Year and Individual of the Year awards.

What I bring to the role

I have over 20 years’ experience in a contact centre environment, covering every role from phone advisor to operations manager and everything in-between! I’m excited to use my expertise to help shape how we take the contact centre to the next level.

Coming from the private sector into the public sector has its advantages. Bringing different perspectives and experiences can be helpful when looking at continuous improvement, pushing digital transformation, and supporting our customers and people.

What the future looks like

We’ll continue supporting customers by offering a choice of channels. I look forward to building on technology we’ve already introduced such as chatbots and webchat.

I’m proud of the awards we’ve achieved, the engagement of our staff and how we always strive for excellence. We’ve got a culture where everyone works towards a common team goal, no matter what individual roles they play.

To find out more

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The first group of 10 has come on board

It’s been four months since our students started the first Business Analysis (BA) Development Programme at DVLA. The programme is part of the Centre of Digital Excellence which was set up in 2018, aimed at recruiting and developing talent in a number of digital areas. We welcomed our first ten students in September and set about immersing them in all things BA. The group is a good mix, with 50% new to DVLA and the others moving over from other parts of the agency.

The students hit the ground running, starting with a 3 week boot camp where they were immersed into the DVLA culture and introduced to the foundations of BA. They were set challenges and tasks and worked through multiple BA methodologies and techniques. We also started preparing the students for their first British Computer Society (BCS) module – the Foundation in BA.

After boot camp it was straight to work, letting them start using their newly learned tools and techniques to help deliver front line digital services for the agency. The feedback from the software development teams has been great, and shows how quickly the students have started to add real value

Gaining experience and qualifications

Our first group has successfully completed their BCS Foundation in BA module and have started their journey to achieve an International Diploma in BA. We are incredibly proud of what our candidates have achieved so far and the effort our team have put in to help them along their path.

We took time before Christmas to review their progress with them and see how much they’ve learned and reflect on how their confidence has grown. It’s been a busy few months but they’re also looking forward to what comes next.

Vicky Goldsbury, one of our first students said:

The BA development programme has given me the opportunity to be totally immersed in a new development challenge and taken me right out of my comfort zone. It’s got a great mix of on the job learning and formal qualifications. Pair that with the support and knowledge we’ve had from our peers and the wider DVLA community, has meant it’s been a great scheme to be part of so far.

Next steps for our students

In the next module, our students will continue studies with BCS, including Requirements Engineering, Systems Development and an introduction to programming. They will also work on our programme to create a digital future.

What’s next for the scheme

The scheme has proved incredibly successful. As well as all candidates passing their first module, which is a great personal boost for them, they are also able to help with developing  DVLA’s frontline services which will help get things done quicker for customers

We are now sharing knowledge with other organisations and government departments who have expressed an interest in the programme. If you have an interest in becoming a Business Analyst, keep an eye on the Civil Service Jobs website where all our opportunities will be advertised.

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