Police Community Support Officer - Apprentice: Berkshire, Buckinghamsh Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

New Year, New Career!

Applications are invited for our PCSO Apprenticeship. Forget the stereotype - modern apprenticeships offer new opportunities to earn and learn for everyone from college leavers to career changers. As an apprentice PCSO your on-the-job learning will also be accredited with a Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice.

PCSO's play an integral part in neighbourhood policing:

• Providing a visible presence on the streets
• Making communities safer and stronger
• Working in local communities and understanding their needs
• Gathering information and intelligence to support law enforcement
• Conflict resolution
• Building relationships with members of the local community
• Working with police constable colleagues

You will be confident, resilient and comfortable dealing with all sections of the community with the ability to make decisions and work with partners to solve problems. A positive character with a professional approach, you act with integrity and treat individuals with respect.

Entry requirements:

• English Language or Literature and maths at GCSE grades C/4 or above (or equivalent)
• Age 18 at date of application - no upper age limit, due to the nature of the role
• Full Driving Licence (you can apply if you are currently learning to drive and plan to take your test in the next 3-6 months, but you will need to have passed your test before being allocated to an intake),

Training:

• Ten weeks' Operational Learning at our Force Training Centre in Sulhamstead, designed to give you a solid understanding in the essentials of a PCSO's role and powers
• Ten weeks' Coached Patrol on your Local Police Area (LPA)
• 31 weeks Operational Deployment with coaching, support and assessment to enable you to achieve the Level 4 Certificate in Community Policing Practice

Successful candidates will go into a recruitment pool to fill planned PCSO intakes from end May 2020 onwards, subject to posting choices and vacancies.

Only one application should be submitted for either Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire. Duplicate applications will be withdrawn. Please read application advice before submitting an application.

If you have any queries, please contact the PCSO Recruitment Department on 0845 2 quoting reference 1234.

Requirements and prospects

Desired skills

• Good standard of verbal and written English with strong communication skills
• Good standard of numeracy
• Ability to drive, due to the nature of the role
• IT literate
• Ability to patrol for long periods of time, often alone
• Ability to undertake physical personal safety training

Personal qualities

• Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with members of the community, partners and colleagues
• Ability to deal assertively with difficult and confrontational situations
• Ability to work on your own initiative

Desired qualifications

GCSEs at grades C/4 or above (or equivalent) in English and maths. Full Driving Licence

Future prospects

Development opportunities either within the role of a PCSO or wider within Thames Valley Police e.g. Police Officer or Police Staff Investigator.

Things to consider

Once trained, you will frequently be patrolling on your own, so you need to feel confident engaging with a diverse spectrum of people.

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