Hatch Digital partnered with Westminster City Council to reimagine how the organisation develops digital capability, not through external recruitment, but by growing talent from within.
Westminster’s Customer Experience team sits at the frontline of community engagement, bringing deep local knowledge and empathy to their work. Yet, as digital transformation accelerated, many frontline colleagues lacked access to the technical skills needed to progress into higher-paid, tech-focused roles.
Together, Hatch and Westminster began thinking differently about how digital skills are built and sustained, opening new career pathways, increasing internal mobility, and ensuring that the benefits of transformation reach everyone, not just specialist teams.
The first pilot focused on GIS, providing Customer Experience employees with practical, hands-on learning directly connected to real council services. Participants gained confidence and capability in data tools, positioning themselves for future opportunities within Westminster’s digital and data functions.
The success of this pilot proved that meaningful upskilling can be achieved from the inside out with the right structure, support, and confidence-building. Building on that momentum, the next phase, focused on Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Microsoft Copilot, will integrate Hatch’s Train-the-Trainer solution, deepening technical capability and enabling the development of internal champions who can embed digital confidence, data literacy, and innovation across the council.
Gerald Almeroth – Executive Director Finance & Resources
Like many organisations in the public sector, Westminster City Council faced two converging challenges:
Traditional hiring approaches were time-consuming and costly, and external recruitment couldn’t always provide the institutional knowledge needed for public service excellence. WCC needed a sustainable, people-first approach to bridge the digital skills gap from within.
Paula Norris: Customer Engagement Manager
In partnership with Hatch Digital, Westminster City Council launched a 10-week GIS Analyst Upskilling Programme designed to transform customer experience staff into data-literate GIS professionals.
The initiative focused on four key elements:
Identifying internal talent: Participants were selected from the customer experience team, based on potential, motivation, and curiosity, not prior technical experience.
Hands-on learning: Learners worked on real-world projects using GIS software, SQL, Power BI, ModelBuilder, and Git to address live operational challenges within the council.
Workplace readiness: Alongside technical skills, the programme built collaboration, communication, and analytical thinking, all vital for hybrid digital roles.
Seamless transition: By the end of the programme, participants were equipped to move into high-demand technical positions, bringing new capability and insight into the organisation.
This initiative demonstrates a replicable model for the public sector, where developing internal talent, rather than recruiting externally, drives meaningful digital transformation.
The ten-week programme proved that digital transformation starts with people.
Participants from Westminster’s customer experience gained hands-on skills in GIS, Power BI, data visualisation, and SQL, boosting their confidence to apply digital tools in real council projects. The initiative achieved a 100% completion rate and 9.4/10 satisfaction score, strengthening Westminster’s internal digital capacity and reducing reliance on external recruitment.
With over 40 assessments completed, the programme created a sustainable pipeline of in-house talent and a repeatable model for future reskilling.
Sazeda Khalil – WCC Candidate
Building on the success of the GIS upskilling programme, Westminster City Council is continuing its partnership with Hatch Digital to expand digital capability even further. The next phase will focus on Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Microsoft Copilot, equipping employees with advanced data and AI skills to enhance decision-making and productivity across the organisation.
This next cohort will incorporate Hatch’s Train-the-Trainer model, creating the foundation for a network of internal digital champions who can share knowledge, mentor peers, and embed digital confidence and innovation throughout the council.
Ross Harrington – WCC Candidate
Paula Norris: Customer Engagement Manager
Today’s digital talent develops in non-traditional ways, often invisible to out-dated hiring practices. But we’ve found it.
We engage with these passionate self-starters differently, turning our backs on CVs in favour of assessment-led hiring that proves their potential, and providing them with the opportunities that the rest of the industry has denied them.