DVSA: A day in the life of an Apprentice Application Developer

A day in the life of an Apprentice Application Developer working in DVSA’s Corporate Systems team

The Corporate Systems team is primarily based in Swansea but has developers based in Bristol also. We are collectively responsible for developing DVSA’s in house applications using a mix of technologies (largely open source ) including  MySQL , Java, Angular, Javascript, CSS, HTML4/5.

As a new developer within the team, you will be provided with a mix of internal and external training to develop the skills required to become a software developer and this will be supplemented by mentoring and assistance from experienced developers within the team.

So if you don’t have the skills when you join there is no need to worry as long as you have the aptitude and desire to learn, including self learning/research where appropriate

Following a short period of training you will get involved and be supported in real application development aimed at supporting critical business processes. Good development practices and quality assurance are at the heart of the team’s work following agreed architectural principles and  ensuring development of reusable code.

You will be provided with all the necessary equipment such as laptop/Macbook as well as the appropriate tools/software. You will use as a central code repository for version control and each developer on the team has their own “image” of the development code so they can make changes without affecting other developers on the team. All your work will be code reviewed by an experienced developer and you will make mistakes, but you don’t need to worry, this is all part of the learning process. All developers will have gone through the same learning process and you will be helped through this in a friendly and constructive way.

You will be part of a “scrum team” using an agile methodology working closely with other developers, testers and business users to achieve team objectives. You will attend daily scrum/conference calls for progress and activity checks so that any problems can be identified early. We keep in constant contact with our colleagues in the Swansea/Bristol offices, keeping up to date with what each other is doing and where necessary we do this via Skype.

Everyday is a new challenge, often bringing new and exciting problems to solve and their complexity!  While sometimes developing does have its frustrations, the end result of having a functioning application used by others across the business and making a difference, is a very rewarding experience.

The nature of the team is friendly and helpful and there is a social side to.The work is interesting and the people are focused, great to get on with and have a diverse range of hobbies and interests to discuss, when we get a breather !

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email [email protected] for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.