Wowgloucestershire – job sector factsheet Prospects 2012 ©
ARMED FORCES, EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SERVICES: CURRENT JOB
MARKET
Army
 The Army employs over 100,000 people but is currently making cuts. The first step
should be to speak to an adviser at an armed forces careers office
Royal Air Force
 The number of people in the RAF has fallen in recent years
 There is strong competition for some roles. The RAF careers website highlights the
trades which receive high numbers of applications
 All officer roles are open to men and women, with the exception of RAF regiment officer,
which is open to men only
The Royal Navy
 Armed forces careers offices have details of vacancies
The Ambulance Service
 Most ambulance staff are employed by the local NHS ambulance trusts in England. A
few ambulance service staff work for private ambulance services and in the armed forces
 Competition for posts can be strong
 NHS ambulance jobs are advertised on the NHS jobs vacancy website, on ambulance
trusts' websites and in local newspapers
The Fire and Rescue Service
 The main employers of firefighters in England are the 45 fire and rescue authorities
 Other organisations employ firefighters, including the British Airports Authority, the
Defence Fire and Rescue Service, and the RAF
 There is a lot of competition for vacancies
The Police
 Excluding the British Transport Police, there are around 137,000 police officers working
in England and Wales (Home Office figures 2011)
 They are employed by the 43 regional police forces, as well as non-geographic forces,
such as the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police
 Currently, many forces are not recruiting due to financial difficulties
Prison Service
 Figures from December 2011 showed around 47400 prison officers. Most work in adult
prisons while others are at young offenders' institutions
 Most prisons in England and Wales are run by Her Majesty's Prison Service
 Eleven others are run by private companies under contract to the Ministry of Justice
 Prisons are located in urban and rural areas (some in very remote)
Private Security Services
 There are estimated to be around 500,000 people in the UK security industry
 They work in a variety of places, such as shopping centres, airports, sports and concert
venues, building sites and hospitals
 Large organisations may employ their own security staff, but many officers work as
contract staff for private security companies
 There are around 2,500 security firms in the UK, many of them small, local firms
 Close protection officers (bodyguards) is a small and specialised area of work
 Close protection officers employed by the state are usually specially trained police
officers or military personnel, often from the Royal Military Police or Special Forces
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Wowgloucestershire – job sector factsheet Prospects 2012 ©
ARMED FORCES, EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SERVICES: FUTURE TRENDS
This sector – apart from private security and some prison services – is mainly funded by
government money and so is vulnerable to public sector cuts
The armed forces
 The army will be reduced from its present size of over 100,000 to 82,000 by 2020. This
will mean the smallest British army in more than a century and the closure of a number of
RAF bases. It is also likely to mean the end of a number of infantry battalions
 The government has said it wants to substantially increase the number of fully-trained
reserves of all three branches of the armed forces
Emergency Services and Prison Services
 The government plans to cut police budgets in England and Wales by 20% over four
years – it is suggested that there could be a reduction of more than 16,200 officers: an
11% reduction in the overall total of around 140,000
 The Metropolitan police are expecting to see a reduction in police and support staff from
32,500 to 30,600
 Other badly hit areas include Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and
Nottinghamshire
 The fire and prison services are also facing cuts and changes in many parts of the
country, from the likely privatisation of firefigher training in London and the closure of the
Fire Brigade Museum, to the closure of two prisons and the possibility that more prisons
will be privatised
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Wowgloucestershire – job sector factsheet Prospects 2012 ©
ARMED FORCES, EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SERVICES: THE PICTURE IN
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
 At least 15 police stations are closing in an attempt to save money
 The total number of Gloucestershire Constabulary employees (police officers and police
staff) was around 2200 in 2011. However, according to the Gloucestershire Police
Federation in September 2011, the force could lose the equivalent of around 200 police
officers over the next two years
 Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service is aiming to save £1.3m over the next three
years - job cuts are not expected but any vacant posts (e.g. from retirement or people
leaving) will not be filled
 Experience of volunteering is either necessary or at least very helpful for some roles in
this sector. Police: the end of 2011, Gloucestershire Constabulary were actively
recruiting special constable volunteers Police Officers (there are currently around 200).
Ambulance staff: St John Ambulance has about 600 volunteers - not just first aiders (also
youth leaders, support roles, etc)
 There are a number of prisons in Gloucestershire including HMP Gloucester and HMP
Eastwood Park, and the young offenders institution, Ashfield, which is managed by major
private company Serco
 G4S is another major security-related company with bases in Gloucestershire. It recently
acquired a local firm specialising in surveillance, fraud analytics and investigations
services. G4S's bases in Gloucestershire include a large unit in Tewkesbury
(headquarters of G4S Technology)
 Fire, police and ambulance personnel in Gloucestershire share a work base - the
TriService centre in Quedgeley was the first of its kind in the country
o
o
o
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service, Quedgeley (20 fire stations in
Gloucestershire)
Gloucestershire Emergency Operations Centre (Great Western Ambulance Service),
Quedgeley
Gloucestershire Constabulary HQ, Quedgeley
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Wowgloucestershire – job sector factsheet Prospects 2012 ©
ARMED FORCES, EMERGENCY AND SECURITY SERVICES: FINDING OUT MORE
Army
www.army.mod.uk/
www.camouflage.mod.uk/for (for 14 to 16-year-olds)
The Defence Sixth Form College www.welbeck.mod.uk/
Royal Air Force
www.raf.mod.uk/careers
Royal Navy
www.royalnavy.mod.uk/
The Ambulance Service
NHS Careers www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/
St John Ambulance www.sja.org.uk/
The Fire and Rescue Service
Fire and Rescue Service http://extraordinary.direct.gov.uk/
The Police
National Police Recruitment Team www.policecouldyou.co.uk/
Prison Service
HM Prison Service www.justice.gov.uk/
Skills for Justice www.skillsforjustice.com/
Security Industry
British Security Industry Association www.bsia.co.uk/
Skills for Security www.skillsforsecurity.org.uk/
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