For many organisations, digital transformation is often held back by a simple challenge, finding the right people.
Competition for digital talent remains intense, particularly outside major cities, leaving employers faced with difficult choices between costly recruitment campaigns, outsourcing key projects or delaying innovation.
For Powys County Council, the answer was to invest in people already within the organisation.
Five years ago, the council was looking to strengthen the capacity of its IT team. Historically, much of its technical work had been outsourced, but leaders recognised the need to develop greater expertise in-house.
“We were looking to build our capacity within the team,” said Jon, Senior Manager Digital at Powys County Council.
“Historically, we were quite small and outsourced a lot of our work. We spoke to The Open University in Wales about their Digital Degree Apprenticeship programme and saw it as a great opportunity.”
The council advertised degree apprenticeship opportunities internally and two employees, Nikki and Sam, successfully secured places on The Open University's Digital Degree Apprenticeship to study software engineering.[A[1.1]
Today, both have graduated and progressed into more senior roles within the organisation.
Their journeys into digital careers were very different.
For Sam, technology had always been a personal interest, but studying computing was not an option at school. After joining the council more than a decade ago, colleagues recognised his aptitude for technology and encouraged him to move into the IT service desk team.
“When the degree apprenticeship opportunity came up, I saw it as my chance,” he said.
“I regretted not getting a degree when I was younger. I was already looking at university options but doing that alongside a full-time job would have been difficult. The apprenticeship gave me a way to achieve the same outcome while continuing to work.”
Nikki's path was less conventional. Having joined the council's IT department as an administrator, she gradually became more involved in technical projects and developed a growing interest in the sector.
“I was picking up more and more about IT without realising it,” she said.
“As soon as I started the degree apprenticeship, so many cogs started turning and everything fell into place.”
Both credit the flexibility of the apprenticeship programme as a key factor in their success, allowing them to balance work, study and personal commitments.
However, the benefits extended far beyond technical skills.
While software engineering formed part of the programme, both graduates say the experience developed a much broader range of capabilities, including communication, problem-solving, self-reflection and stakeholder engagement.
“The first module was heavy on self-reflection,” Nikki explained.
“It wasn't something I was looking forward to initially, but by the end of the programme it became one of the most valuable aspects. It helped me become more comfortable analysing my own performance and how I approach challenges.”
Sam added that the programme changed the way he thinks about professional development.
“I thought it would be all about coding,” he said.
“But one of the biggest lessons was learning how to learn. We were taught how to teach ourselves, understand documentation, work with stakeholders and continually expand our knowledge. Those skills are invaluable in a profession where technology changes so quickly.”
For Jon, the programme has delivered significant benefits for the wider organisation.
“Developers are notoriously difficult to recruit, particularly in rural areas like Mid Wales,” he said.
“That can make recruitment expensive and increase reliance on external suppliers.”
Instead, the council has created its own talent pipeline.
“We now have two more students on the degree apprenticeship programme. Nikki and Sam have both progressed into more senior roles and are now mentoring others. The whole team has benefited from us investing in local talent.”
Their experience reflects a growing trend among employers who are looking beyond traditional recruitment and focusing on workforce development as a long-term strategy.
With digital skills becoming increasingly important across every sector, organisations are recognising that some of the talent they need may already exist within their workforce. By combining workplace experience with structured learning, degree apprenticeships can help businesses and public sector organisations develop capability from within while strengthening retention, engagement and organisational resilience.
As organisations continue to navigate digital transformation, Powys County Council's experience demonstrates that investing in existing employees can be just as valuable as recruiting new talent, and may deliver benefits that extend far beyond technical skills alone.
