James Munson told you about our first graduate recruitment campaign in November 2016. We’re delighted that the first of the successful applicants have now joined the team in Nottingham!
In late January 2017, I got the chance to spend time with the new digital services graduates on their first 2 days with us.
A range of experience
At the start of the first day, everyone took turns to introduce themselves and talk about what's important to them. It was a great way to break the ice and allow everyone to get to know each other personally.
The introductions covered everything from sandy beaches in Greece, CBBC, through to restoring old cars!
The graduates are of various ages and experience. For example, David has already spent a number of years in DVSA and for James, this is his first ever job.
It was nice to see the graduates drawing on different areas of knowledge to help each other through the course.
Integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality
Then it was time for the corporate induction, covering topics like the Civil Service code, HR policies and health and safety.
For me personally, it was nice to revisit the Civil Service. I've been a civil servant for just over 3 years now, and the code becomes normal practice very quickly. It’s nice to be reminded of the core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality that connect all civil servants, regardless of role or location.
It was also interesting to hear about what the graduates thought about DVSA and the Civil Service before they joined us, and comparing this to their previous roles.
An impressive amount of support
Sue Tattersall from our HR Expert Services team attended as a guest speaker. She told us about the work our HR and shared services teams do, how to book annual leave, and all about the DVSA staff handbook, attendance management and who to ask for help.
I found who to ask for help particularly interesting.
The amount of support civil servants can access if they are struggling with anything in work or at home is very impressive, from network groups representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, carers and disabled people, to trade unions and Civil Service charities.
Sue emphasised the importance of a diverse workforce and provided this quote from Gareth Llewellyn, our Chief Executive, which I thought was particularly relevant:
A culture which values diverse views, experiences and backgrounds while engendering an inclusive team ethic is essential if DVSA is to be a great place to work.
Learning about keeping information safe
On the second day, Graham Watts, Security Improvement Manager, joined us to tell us how best to keep information safe. Graham started by telling us who's responsible for it - we all are!
He also gave us a few examples of when information hadn't been kept safe by different organisations, and the consequences of this. The examples were quite serious and could seem quite daunting. But Graham assured us that it's not to scare anyone, but to show there can be big consequences if information isn't handled correctly.
Graham also covered social media and how to keep our own personal information safe.
It was interesting to learn about the different ways hackers would piece together your basic details to gain access to your emails or social media. For example, if you have a football team’s logo as your profile picture, this could be a clue to what your password is, or what the answers to your security questions are.
This is just the beginning
It was a great couple of days spent with the graduates, the induction event organisers, and the guest speakers. Getting to know everyone a bit better and hearing what the graduates' plans are for the future and what they aim to get out of DVSA was really inspiring.
So welcome to the team Argyrious, Parth, Ibrahim, Kriakos, James, Michael, Kishan, David and Maria.
Keep an eye out for their first thoughts, which they'll be blogging about soon.
If DVSA sounds like a great place to work for you, why not join our team? We're currently recruiting for a number of roles. And don't forget to sign up for email alerts and follow us on Twitter.