2021 marks my 25th year in the SCTS.  I joined in November 1996, working in Justiciary Office preparing appeal papers sifting and full hearings.  I moved to Edinburgh Sheriff Court in 1999 on promotion and spent the next 14 years working my way round the Civil, Criminal, Cashier and Administration departments gaining experience in a wide variety of roles.  Working in a larger Court like Edinburgh SC gave me opportunities to specialise in particular areas of work, such as clerking sheriff and jury trials, and working as the Sheriff Principal’s appeals clerk.  It also gave me a taste of dealing directly with the public and solicitors at the busy counters in the cashiers and civil departments.

I was also in the fortunate position to experience working at a small Court in Haddington (total of  6 staff, including the Sheriff) where I spent 2 months intensive training to learn how to clerk a Court, shortly after I started in Edinburgh SC.  This was a big challenge for me at the time, but was invaluable in honing my skills in an environment where you had to understand procedure, and build good relationships with the Sheriff, and the regular Court users such as solicitors and Procurator Fiscals, as you would be working with each of them every day.

In 2013 I moved to my current department in CDi.  I was able to use my extensive knowledge of Court processes and procedures, and build upon them with an in depth understanding of supporting the case management systems.  4 years ago I was promoted to lead the team I was part of, becoming the Helpdesk Manager.

To anyone considering joining the SCTS – it is challenging in the best possible way, and full of opportunities in a wide variety of roles.  There is also the contrast between the old traditions of wigs and gowns which are part of our history, and the great strides we have made in embracing technology to continue to deliver access to justice for the many users of our services.  Of all areas in SCTS, CDi is one of the best places to be to experience

I originally joined SCTS CDi in 2017 on a 2 year modern apprenticeship. On completion I joined the team permanently as an Infrastructure Engineer, and recently have been successful in a promotion to Senior Infrastructure Engineer. The helpfulness and support of all of the team has been instrumental in my learning and development, allowing me to get to the position I am in now.

My role involves making sure that all 2600 devices in the estate, and the users that use them, keep running smoothly. There are always new and exciting challenges that come with this due to the accelerating pace of change, and introduction of new services throughout the organisation.

I have been working within SCTS in various positions over the past 13 years.  I started off in the Criminal Office within Edinburgh Sheriff Court where I completed my SVQ in Summary criminal.  In 2010 I then moved to the IT department now Change and Digital Innovation (CDi) within Saughton House.   Initially starting on the helpdesk as an Executive Officer and eventually moving into the role as PARIS). 

In my time within CDi I have completed two ILM’s in Leadership and Management and Level 3 Certificate in Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).  This was fully supported and funded by SCTS.

SCTS also supported my request for flexible working after having my first child in 2017, and I now work a 5 day week condensed into 4 days.  SCTS recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance. 

SCTS is truly a fantastic place to work and the opportunities of development are always supported.

SCTS is a friendly, welcoming place, where you can feel the core values of respect, service and excellence daily in the approach to the work that we do. I started working at SCTS as a consultant, and enjoyed it so much I switched employer and made my role here permanent. Working here gives me the opportunity to progress my career professionally. I am responsible for delivering digitally enabled change in civil justice, running programmes which improve the delivery of civil justice for the citizen, the legal profession, the judiciary and the staff at SCTS. Our aim is to incrementally build civil justice system user confidence, increasing the flow of civil business.

I was enjoying semi-retirement looking at doing some work in the third sector, when I received an approach from a previous Director I had worked for, asking if I was interested in contracting. He thought I’d be a really good fit for a role he had as it was similar to the one I had delivered for him previously. The thought of having to update my 12 year old CV was a bit off putting but I thought it sounded like an “interesting gig” and decided I’d throw my hat in the ring and apply for a future position if it came up. I was interviewed and was successful and started with SCTS as an Infrastructure Consultant doing some Network type works initially.

I found myself being very frustrated in undertaking the work but not being able to influence the decisions at the correct level within the organisation and I knew I could “make a difference” if afforded the opportunity. So when the permanent position of Infrastructure Manager came up I decided to take the wage hit and throw my hat in the ring once more with a view to being here no more than 18-24 months which clearly never happened and to be honest I’ve never looked back.

The organisation has seen some huge transformational change and movement towards digital delivery during my time here, never more so than in the last 15 months. I still have a job to do, we all do, however I’m now confident we will get there with the ongoing support of the Lord President and the CEO.

The work we do changes lives and I’m glad to be giving something back to society as I enter my latter working years, I end each day thinking I’m making a difference as does everyone that works in this organisation and I can’t ask for any more than that.

Come and be part of it, you will be surprised at the opportunity afforded if you are willing to step outside the norm.