Last year, we published several resources on how to attract, recruit and retain digital, data, and technology talent to the public sector.

While we have continued the work this year, it has evolved into developing a future talent pipeline.

We contributed to and helped develop UK’s first user-centred design apprenticeship programme in partnership with Gower College Swansea and Agored Cymru and recruited 3 apprentices who joined us in September 2023.

We continued to work with our recruitment partner, Yolk Recruitment, through an enabled contract to provide recruitment services, both to us and the wider public sector in Wales.

Impact

Our attract, recruit and retain YouTube videos have a total of 651 views.

Our 3 user-centred design apprentices will be the first people in the UK to receive a qualification in user-centred design having completed 2 placements so far in user research and content design.

Hear from our partners

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“We're thrilled to introduce this pioneering apprenticeship program in user-centred design, underscoring our commitment to providing innovative and industry-relevant education. Being the exclusive provider of this pathway allows us to offer an unrivalled learning experience, empowering our apprentices to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.”
Bruce Fellowes, Head of Gower College Swansea Training

Next steps

CDPS will come under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 from June 2024 and will need to set wellbeing goals to improve and work towards these as an organisation.

Our shared apprenticeship scheme is due to start in the next financial year, 2024 to 2025, working with different public sector organisations to enable them to grow their own talent within user-centred design with CDPS supporting.

We will develop an internship and work experience programme tailored to provide hands-on experience within digital workstreams and Agile methodologies working in partnership with Bangor University.

Read more

Reflections from our user-centred design apprentices

The challenges of recruiting apprentices: a journey of discovery and growth

Meet our apprentices

Gower College Swansea leads the way with exclusive user-centred design apprenticeship

How it meets our objectives

CDPS’s objectives:

Objective 1: Supporting the leadership and culture amongst public service leaders to drive good digital policy making and support digital transformation.

Objective 3: Work with others to develop a digital workforce strategy for public services in Wales and support practical measures to create a pipeline of skilled professionals.

The Five Ways of Working – Well-being of Future Generations Act

  • Long-term
  • Integration
  • Involvement
  • Collaboration
  • Prevention

7 well-being goals – Well-being of Future Generations Act

  • A prosperous Wales
  • A more equal Wales
  • A Wales of more cohesive communities
  • A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
  • A globally responsible Wales