Tom Szekeres

The Size (reposted from faststream.hmg.gov.uk)

Before I joined Poke, I spent a couple of years in the UK Civil Service as one of the first few people to join via the Technology in Business Fast Stream, launched a few years ago to plug the (then widening) digital skills gap in Government. When I was asked by the Cabinet Office to write about some of my experiences last year, I put together the post below, which was published last May.

While I enjoyed the time I spent in Whitehall, and feel like we made a lot of progress in the short time I was at HMRC, there were a few of us who felt constrained by the technological limitations that come from working in the Public Sector (my main bugbear being having to use IE6…), and who have taken since swapped Whitehall for Tech City Silicon Roundabout.

The Fast Stream team have recently removed all posts by those of us who have recently moved on - they’ve made some positive first steps onto Facebook, but still don’t quite get the idea of blogging…

I’ve therefore reposted the article below (and added back in the links), which hopefully will be of use to those out there who are looking to apply to TiB.

How Big…?

One thing that hits you when you first start working in central government is the sheer scale of operations, particularly if you working for one of the larger Departments. The numbers at HMRC tell the story (up to a point): £435.1bn of tax collected, £39bn in benefits and tax credits paid out, 61 million calls handled via Contact Centres, three million visits to our Enquiry Centres, 9.9 million letters received (these numbers are for 2009/10).

How about our website? Towards the end of January when people file their tax return online, it becomes the third busiest in the world, beaten only by Facebook and Google. You don’t need much imagination to understand how integral ICT is to delivering these numbers, but it takes a surprising amount of creativity and ingenuity to understand how to meet the challenges we now face.

Change is a word you’ll hear a lot…

Although it sounds like a cliché, this is an unprecedented time for Government (and the technology that powers it). With public services set to be digital by default, the development of Government Cloud services (dubbed ‘G-Cloud’), and the enormous cost-savings that can be achieved by changing how HMG does business, Gov.uk will need a new generation of leaders who understand the transformative power of technology and who have the drive and influence to ensure it’s done the right way.

All of this may sound very exciting, but what does working in Gov IT actually look like day to day? How do our experiences on TiB match up? Speaking from my own perspective, it’s the sheer scale of the opportunities available (if you look for them) that make the Fast Stream so worthwhile.

What’s it really like?

Within a few months of starting I was supporting an IT rationalisation programme that will save £161m a year from 2011/12. As part of our Green IT team, I then helped deliver the largest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from any Government ICT estate – the equivalent of taking over 8,000 cars off the road – which contributed towards the commitment to reduce HMG’s Carbon Footprint by 10% in the space of 12 months. I’m now working with one of our suppliers on IT innovation, trying to capture, prioritise and implement the ideas that will save the next £100m, halve the number of letters we post, or decimate the time it takes to file online.

Around all of this, I’ve sat on the Government’s CIO Council Green Delivery Unit and helped to shape the Sustainable IT agenda across the public sector. I’ve facilitated a workshop for 50 senior leaders (think herding cats) following a major organisational restructure. I’ve written conference presentations delivered before hundreds of experts on Government ICT, taken part in a Round Table Discussion with Directors and Chief Executives, and written articles read by tens of thousands of people on the Department’s website.

A quick word of advice

If you are successful and join the Fast Stream (whichever flavour), learn to recognise opportunities and (more importantly) make sure to seize them. Put yourself out there and make sure you promote yourself both within your Department and beyond. Don’t be afraid to ask – the worst that can happen is you’ll be told “no”. Conversely always be willing to say “yes” – even if it leads down a harder path.

Any questions? Feel free to contact me either here or on twitter.