The force is strong with apprenticeships

13 February 2012

APPRENTICESHIPS could offer a highly effective way to develop and recognise the skills and competence of police officers and staff and benefit forces across the country, according to staff surveyed in new research conducted by Skills for Justice.

Support for developing apprenticeships is strong across England and Wales, with more than half of police forces across England and Wales surveyed believing apprenticeships would help to develop the skills of Police staff and Police officers across a range of roles and ranks.

The findings were presented at a Skills for Justice Briefing Event at Ryton on Dunsmore, Coventry, on Wednesday (February 8).

Skills for Justice, the sector skills council for policing and law enforcement, launched an online consultation to research the level of support and potential demand for apprenticeships in policing. Forces were also asked about their current use of apprenticeships.

The key findings of the research were:

• Almost 73 per cent felt there was an opportunity in their organisation to use a level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, equivalent to three A-levels, to support the development of recruit entry constables.
• 86.4 per cent felt there was opportunity in their organisation to use a level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship to supper the development of Police Community Support officers (PCSOs)
• 63.6 per cent felt there was opportunity in their organisation to use a level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, equivalent to a Foundation Degree, to support the development of sergeants
• 68 per cent felt there was opportunity in their organisation to use a level 5 higher Apprenticeship to support the development of Inspectors.

At the event, delegates from more than 20 forces across the country, as well as staff from the NPIA, were asked to consider the benefits and value that apprenticeships in Policing could bring to their service.

Some felt that the apprenticeships offered an opportunity to support and develop key front line service including increasing the service skills and professional recognition for front desk officers, communications/contact centre staff and PCSOs, with further potential opportunities, to support Police Officer development in specialist areas such as investigation.

There was also strong support for utilising generic apprenticeships in business administration, customer services and management, which have already been successfully adopted by some forces.

Colin Kelvey, Quality Assurance Co-ordinator at Kent Police, described how the force had taken on 29 young apprentices since March 2010, on a Business Administration Level 2 Apprenticeship. Of these, three progressed to an Advanced Apprenticeship and nine gained permanent employment.

One of the apprentices said: "Being an apprentice has helped me massively to gain employment. It has also helped me with career choices as I now know I want to stay within Kent Police and hope sometime in the future to move into forensic studies."

Amanda Thomson, Accreditation and Quality Manager at Thames ValleyPolice, described how apprenticeships had been successfully developed and used in the force. The force offered apprenticeships in customer service, administration, management and contact centre, all delivered in house with funding drawn down through Milton Keynes College.

She said a key benefit of the apprenticeship was the development of functional skills, in Maths, English and IT, which would in turn benefit the force.

The staff also heard a presentation from Sharon Thompson, Senior Business Development Manager at the National Apprenticeship Service, who told the group that key priorities for the service this year include reducing the number of people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) and supporting progression for staff through Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeships.

Stuart Villers, Key Account Manager for Police and Law enforcement at Skills for Justice, said:

"Apprenticeships complement the professionalisation agenda, providing development for the individual recognised by gaining a qualification for either rank or specialism, and therefore benefitting the organisation with increased levels of competent and qualified staff.

"Additionally, the structure of an Apprenticeship Framework, while still regulated, is more flexible than has previously been the case, thus reducing the level of bureaucracy formerly associated with Apprenticeships whilst providing individuals with the skills, knowledge, understanding and competence to perform their roles."

For more information on Skills for Justice's work in the policing sector, please visit the website.

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