Sam McLaren started at the council at the very tender of age of 19. In a short five years his career has continued to progress and last year he was runner-up in the Young Digital Leader category in the national Digital Leaders 100 awards. Here Sam’s shares his career journey (so far) with #DigitalDorset
I’m young so my career background might not be as expansive as others. But I have been at the council for around five years now. I started as an ICT apprentice for Dorset Councils’ partnership (DCP) when I was 19.
Slowly through the two years of my apprenticeship I started to take on ‘side projects’ which involved more project-based work. This then led to what I call my ‘bounce around phase’ where I went through lots of fixed term contracts learning new skills and developing new relationships. I was initially attached to the technology side of things but as I grew older, I started to lean away from it and focus on the people.
By the time I finally found my home in the digital team I had been though a number of other teams: business transformation, shaping Dorset, superfast and adults transformation.
Digital is a way of working, a way of thinking, it’s not just technology. My current role is as service improvement analyst. This involves designing services or processes around people and bringing things forward into the 21st century. It uses the latest technology to provide modern solutions and experiences so that the organisation becomes more efficient and effective.
Over the last 12 months I have been encouraging innovation, creativity and making an impact in Dorset though the digital team. Part of this has been through work we have done as #DigitalDorset with other organisations such as events, webinars and our three-day, online Festival of the Future.
One thing that I am proud of is the Digital Dorset Podcast. I had been dreaming (and wouldn’t shut up about) the idea of a public sector podcast and eventually I made it come true. Communication and collaboration are vital in digital and a podcast is a great way to keep people informed about what is going on, and also, to stimulate some interesting discussions. If you are interested, you can listen here Digital Dorset Podcast | Podcast on Spotify.
I also volunteer as part of the ‘Inspiring the Future’ campaign. I attend schools to inspire the children about the world of work in digital and give them insights into exciting and unique careers and encouraging them to be ambitious. Students often aren’t aware of careers in this area of work (I wasn’t) so educating them and inspiring them feels amazing and has a massive impact.
The public sector (especially locally) makes a really big difference to thousands of lives and one of the reasons I enjoy my job comes down to helping people. If, in my role, I can make their lives a little easier with a smoother process then that has a great impact, and that is what digital is all about.
Since I started in the digital team all my work has been done virtually at home. I was very lucky to know all the team well anyway, but they are all so great and passionate about what they do it’s easy to fit in.
I love living in Dorset because it’s beautiful and peaceful, but it also helps with my photography. Having great looking landscapes on your doorstep does make it a bit easier. Baking is another passion of mine and that has only gotten worse in lockdown, but I haven’t actually stooped low enough to make banana bread yet, so I guess that’s a win?
We are recruiting. If, like Sam, you would like to progress a career in digital why not apply to join us? We have new vacancies for a range of new digital projects, click here for more details Dorset Recruitment – Jobs and careers (dorsetcouncil.gov.uk)
I have worked in communications for 25 years, first as a journalist and then in public and private sector public relations. From Southampton originally, I have lived in beautiful Dorset for the last two decades. My passion for Dorset has also turned into a passion for landscape photography. My other great loves are my family and Southampton Football Club.