“More than anything, the support of the people that I have worked with has been overwhelming. I’m incredibly grateful and humbled by how much time and energy has been invested into my experience at GDS. Their dedication to providing me with the best platform to succeed will have a lasting impact on my confidence when taking the next step in my career.”

‘The Movement to Work programme was an opportunity I grasped with both hands. I had been struggling with finding permanent and full-time employment for four months, rejected frequently due to my lack of experience. This increasingly knocked my confidence. Frustrated by my situation, I decided to go to my local Jobcentre Plus. Little did I know that this would lead me to the Government Digital Service (GDS) – who at that point I had never heard of!

Eight weeks at GDS and I feel more confident in my abilities than I have ever done. Being pushed out of my comfort zone and being given real responsibility challenged me to work harder. To successfully complete a task to an excellent standard, whilst doing something completely new is an exhilarating experience.

‘More than anything, the support of the people that I have worked with has been overwhelming. I’m incredibly grateful and humbled by how much time and energy has been invested into my experience at GDS. Their dedication to providing me with the best platform to succeed will have a lasting impact on my confidence when taking the next step in my career.

I have also been lucky enough to be offered employment at GDS!’

Four years on from my placement (A 2021 update from Broch) 

I wrote this for Movement to Work in 2017 after completing my placement and securing a temporary contract, that very shortly after became permanent! When I wrote this, I was thinking about a special group of people who had made my time at GDS in those short 8 weeks an amazing time and I was ecstatic that I was able to continue working with them.

“It is now 2021 and I guess you could say I’ve taken ‘a few more steps’ in my career. I am now working at a different department as a policy adviser and will soon be embarking on a policy apprenticeship to work towards accreditation. I am very excited for the future and I still cannot quite believe where this journey has taken me. A big thank you to everyone who has been involved in getting me here, I still cannot believe it!”