Behind every service improvement lies a team of dedicated individuals whose passion and expertise make progress possible. While the first part of this series explored the changes that enhance our services, this blog post aims to highlight some of the people, development opportunities and projects that are behind the scenes at DVSA Digital and Data.
Investing in our peopleWe're proud to be one of the first government departments to pioneer the TechTrack digital apprenticeship programme. By investing in our people and supporting career changers through intensive training, we’re equipping future software developers, DevOps engineers, and cyber specialists with critical skills to transform our services.
In 2025, our TechTrack apprentices completed an intense training programme and are now successfully embedded in multi-disciplinary teams across the Digital and Data directorate, applying their newly gained skills and knowledge to a multitude of projects.
The early adoption of this cross-government programme not only strengthens DVSA’s digital capability but also demonstrates our commitment to innovation and continuous learning.
TechTrack apprentice John Rothera, outlines his experience at DVSA so far:
“My first three months were spent in a fast-paced intensive bootcamp, which gave me a solid foundation in software engineering principles. In the final weeks, I worked with other apprentices to build a full-stack application hosted online for anyone to access.
This application had a functioning website with a database, a user interface and backend code. Presenting our work to DVSA colleagues was a proud moment for us all. It was an intense but rewarding experience that showed just how far we’d come in a short time”.
Recognition on the global stageDVSA's digital excellence was recognised on the world stage when Tina Churcher, Chief Delivery Officer, was named among the Top 100 Future CIOs globally. Her leadership has driven innovation, strategic transformation, and measurable impact across DVSA's digital services.
Reflecting on her achievement, Tina said: “My Dad once said that you’re only ever as good as your team will let you be. I’m privileged to work with an incredible team at DVSA whose purpose to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably, is as tangible across Digital and Data as it is to our frontline colleagues. Together, we’ll continue to set new standards in digital innovation”.
This recognition places DVSA alongside global giants in the financial, retail and entertainment sectors, showcasing the agency's growing influence in public sector technology. A huge congratulations to Tina for this incredible achievement!
Championing innovationAnother exciting project we’re developing is DVSA's Innovation Lab, a brand-new team within Digital and Data aiming to explore emerging technologies, solve service challenges and driving continuous improvement across the agency.
Cara Thresh, Programme Delivery Manager who has been leading the Innovation Lab explains:
“The Innovation Lab creates focused time and capacity for our teams to explore innovative ideas that can genuinely improve our services.
It's also about making sure colleagues across DVSA understand emerging technologies and how they might benefit us, while delivering practical proof-of-concepts that demonstrate real value.
We're identifying and testing ideas that unlock efficiencies and support our strategic goals – essentially acting as a central hub where teams can experiment, learn together, and collaborate on new approaches that make a difference to how we work”.
We’ll be sharing further updates on the work of our Innovation Lab on this channel over the coming months.
Shaping the future togetherThe dedication and creativity of our staff have been the driving force behind every improvement we’ve delivered. As we look ahead to the coming year, we’re excited to build on this momentum, introducing new innovations and continuing to put people at the heart of everything we do.
Together, we’re shaping a future that’s smarter, more connected, and even more responsive to the needs of our customers.
Keep an eye on our channels as we continue to share our stories of development, innovation and the incredible talent that’s driving our work forward.
To stay connected with everything happening in DVSA Digital and Data, you can follow us on social media and sign up for email alerts, where we share our latest news, insights and opportunities to join our team.
https://dvsadigital.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/03/dvsas-digital-year-in-review-championing-our-colleagues/
seen at 09:57, 3 March in DVSA digital.