Department plans major training programme in effort to build in-house capability
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is planning to build up its in-house capability with a combination of hiring and upskilling staff in a programme running up to 2018-19.
Jonathan Lindley, director of capability and transformation at the DWP, told Whitehall Media’s Central Government Business and Technology Conference that it is part of an effort to increase internal expertise and exert more direct control over its IT operations.
This reflects a move away from its reliance on the service integration and management (SIAM) towers model for IT provision, and a wish to eliminate service outages, provide more accurate financial forecasts, build digital platforms and develop more real time analytics.
The DWP currently has about 2,500 technology staff, but control over key systems lies in the hands of 5,000 from vendors. There are plans to move some people into the department under TUPE regulations, but this will be accompanied by a major hiring and training programme.
A departmental spokesperson said after the event that there is as yet no definite number on the new staff to be brought in.
“We have made a promise to people in DWP technology that if they are willing to train and reskill that we will invest in that,” Lindley said.
He added: “It will be better for people, providing an opportunity for anyone who wants to develop, learn and build their own capability. There will be more exciting role with career paths in the job functions.”
Image: DWP Adelphi building, by Steph Gray from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 or CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
