Apprentice Developer

Summary

An apprentice developer attends certified training and develops skills on the job.

At this role level, you will:

spend a substantial portion of time shadowing others

work with other developers to write code and tests

build your knowledge

follow a test-driven approach

write code that is automatically tested

Background

Description	Background
Takes a logical, analytical approach to problem solving and pays close attention to detail.	Prior Knowledge and Skills

Work Activity Components

Title	Details
Policy, standards and guidelines (PROG)(Level 2)	Applies agreed standards and tools as required, to achieve a well-engineered result.
Documentation and version control (PROG)(Level2)	Documents work in accordance with agreed standards. Applies version control in accordance with agreed procedures.

Behavioural Skills

Title	Details
Analytical Thinking	Acquiring a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.
Attention to Detail	Applying specific quality standards to all tasks undertaken to ensure that deliverables are accurate and complete.
Verbal Expression	Communicating effectively using the spoken word.
Written Expression	Communicating effectively in writing, such as reports and via emails.
Teamwork	Working collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal.

Technical Skills

Title	Details	Depth
Application Systems	Technical or functional understanding of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications and/or other bespoke software deployed within the organisation in order to provide system configuration, audit, technical, and/or functional support.	Aware of
Application Development Tools	Software tools which automate or assist part of the development process.	Aware of
Programming Languages	A set of codes and syntax (supported by software tools) that enables the unambiguous translation of specified functionality into source code for the creation of computer programs.	Familiar with
Software Testing Tools	Software tools which automate or assist any part of the testing process across all or part of the testing lifecycle.	Aware of
Middleware	Software which forms part of the operating platform infrastructure.	Aware of
Agile	A collection of methods, practises, tools and techniques, underpinned by the Agile Manifesto, that enable teams to deliver high value products and services in small, workable, increments. An Agile culture typically encompasses concepts such as Servant-Leaders; ceremonies, Stand-Ups, Sprints and Retrospectives; and the deployment of tools and techniques such as Backlogs and A/B Testing.	Aware of

Other Skills

Title	Details	Depth
Time Management Techniques	Methods and techniques for making effective use of own time.	Aware of

Training

Title	Details
Systems Development	Systems development, including development life-cycles and methods, organisation interfaces, typical corporate application architectures, project and programme management, risk management and change control.
System Testing	Methods and procedures for planning, specifying and executing tests, including levels of testing, e.g. Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing, User Acceptance Testing, Regression Testing, Live User Testing, etc.
Software Configuration	Installation, configuration and tuning of applications or systems software.
DevOps	The techniques to adopt a collaborative approach in order to facilitate rapid IT service and product delivery. DevOps emphasizes people (and culture) and seeks to improve collaboration between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams with the aim of shortening the systems development life cycle to provide continuous release of high-quality software.
Security Awareness	Tools and techniques to help users and employees understand the role they play in helping to combat information security breaches and for IT and security professionals to prevent and mitigate risk.

Professional Development Activity (PDA)

Title	Details	PDA Group
Participation in Group Activities	Participating in group activities inside or outside of the working environment that can assist with the development of interpersonal skills.	Broadening Activities
Job Shadowing and Special Assignments	Undertaking temporary periods or secondments in other roles, particularly those that offer a new perspective on own function or exposure to other environments and cultures.	Broadening Activities
Gaining Knowledge of Employing Organisation	Gaining basic knowledge of the employing organisation, its business, structure, culture, policies, products/services, operations and terminology.	Increasing Knowledge
Gaining Knowledge of Surrounding Technical Areas	Gaining knowledge of IT activities in employing organisation external to own function.	Increasing Knowledge
Involvement in Professional Body Activities	Attending meetings, seminars and workshops organised by professional body and reading published material, such as journals and web content.	Participation in Professional Activities
Time Management	Undertaking learning and practice in the planning and organising of own activities.	Developing Professional Skills
Team Working	Undertaking learning and practice in the techniques of team and collaborative working. Gaining an understanding of the underlying concepts.	Developing Professional Skills
Communications	Undertaking learning and practice in oral and written communications, including report writing and presentation.	Developing Professional Skills

Qualification Components

Title	Awarding Bodies
FEDIP Associate Practitioner	The Federation for Informatics Professionals
IT Apprenticeship Software Development Technician (ST0128, Level 3)	Institute for Apprenticeships

Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework Skills

Skill	Level
Availability and capacity management Availability and capacity management involves ensuring services are available with as little down-time or disruption as possible, whilst making sure we have sufficient resources to support emerging business needs.	Awareness Availability and capacity management You can: show an awareness of availability and capacity management processes
Information security Information security involves maintaining the security, confidentiality and integrity of information.	Awareness Information security You can: discuss information security and the security controls that can be used to mitigate security threats within solutions and services
Modern standards approach Modern development standards involves using the latest technologies and best practices to improve the quality of the software development process.	Awareness Modern standards approach You can: understand the importance of adopting a modern standards approach
Programming and build (software engineering)	Working Programming and build (software engineering) You can: design, code, test, correct and document simple programs or scripts under the direction of others
Prototyping Prototyping a service or product involves exploring, testing and sharing different concepts before committing to the final design.	Awareness Prototyping You can: explain what prototyping is, and why and when to use it understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example)
Service support Service support involves fixing service faults and maintaining the underlying infrastructure, ensuring processes are in place to keep the service running efficiently.	Awareness Service support You can: help with the investigation and resolution of infrastructure problems, undertaking specific activities under direction
User focus User focus involves understanding the user needs to develop a detailed understanding of the problems that need to be solved.	Awareness User focus You can: show an awareness or understanding of user experience analysis and its principles explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs

Skill

Level

Availability and capacity management

Availability and capacity management involves ensuring services are available with as little down-time or disruption as possible, whilst making sure we have sufficient resources to support emerging business needs.

Awareness Availability and capacity management

You can: show an awareness of availability and capacity management processes

Information security

Information security involves maintaining the security, confidentiality and integrity of information.

Awareness Information security

You can: discuss information security and the security controls that can be used to mitigate security threats within solutions and services

Modern standards approach

Modern development standards involves using the latest technologies and best practices to improve the quality of the software development process.

Awareness Modern standards approach

You can: understand the importance of adopting a modern standards approach

Programming and build (software engineering)

Working Programming and build (software engineering)

You can: design, code, test, correct and document simple programs or scripts under the direction of others

Prototyping

Prototyping a service or product involves exploring, testing and sharing different concepts before committing to the final design.

Awareness Prototyping

You can: explain what prototyping is, and why and when to use it understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example)

Service support

Service support involves fixing service faults and maintaining the underlying infrastructure, ensuring processes are in place to keep the service running efficiently.

Awareness Service support

You can: help with the investigation and resolution of infrastructure problems, undertaking specific activities under direction

User focus

User focus involves understanding the user needs to develop a detailed understanding of the problems that need to be solved.

Awareness User focus

You can: show an awareness or understanding of user experience analysis and its principles explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs

The Professional Body Responsible for this job family is BCS. This job role profile was created in collaboration with BCS, using Role Model Plus.