DELIVERING THE HOMEOFFICE
APPRENTICESHIP IN POLICING,
RESEARCH FINDINGS
CYFLWYNO’R BRENTISIAETH
MEWN PLISMONA SWYDDFA
GARTREF
Jemma Jones, Skills for Justice
OVERVIEW - LEVEL 3 APPRENTICESHIP IN
HOMEOFFICE POLICING (THE BRIDGE)
Runs alongside IPLDP
L3 Apprenticeship in
Home Office Policing
Diploma in Policing Level 3
(QCF)
Communication
Level 3
Application of
Number Level 2
Employee
Rights and
Responsibilities
Information
Communications
Technology Level
2
Work
based
mentori
ng
(tutor
constable
phase)
Piloted in
Dyfed Powys
Police (with
Coleg Sir Gar),
Gwent Police
and South
Wales Police
(with Skills
Academy
Wales)
KEY BENEFITS OF THE APPRENTICESHIP
• Up-skilling in Essential Skills:
• Communication (Level 3)
• Application of Number (Level 2)
• Information and Communication Technology (Level 2)
• Supporting professionalism in policing
• Essential Skills training embedded within a policing
context
• Towards improved consistency of individual and collective
operational capability and competence
CONTROL GROUP FINDINGS
• Around 40% of new recruit constables would
still not reach Level 3 in literacy skills
• Around 44% of new recruits would still not
reach Level 2 in numeracy skills
• Evidence suggests that Essential Skills
training leads to greater confidence in
interpreting and reviewing data in file
preparation
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS –
SOUTH WALES CASE STUDY
• Potential long-term impact: reduction in the cost of cracked
and ineffective trials (this is just one example where Essential
Skills can improve police officer performance)
• Sensitivity tests - optimistic and pessimistic scenarios
• Results:
• In-house delivery incurs more costs within the first year. Potential
decrease of 6.45% over 5 years, compared to delivery in
partnership
• The base scenario (medium) suggests for every £1 spent on
Essential Skills development of police constables could,
potentially, create £3.17 in savings to the public purse
POTENTIAL IMPACT –
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
Potential to
increase pool of
applicants
(recruitment)
Provides ongoing
essential skills
development
(retention and
progression)
CHALLENGES: THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Misunderstanding and stereotypical views of Apprenticeships
• Limited recognition of the relevance of accredited learning
• Perceived conflict with the highest level of qualifications
achieved by recruit constables
• Some limited awareness of the relevancy of essential skills
training to the role of a police constable
• Dissatisfaction with repetition of initial assessment for
essential skills, as recruits felt they had completed
assessment in these areas through the Police SEARCH®
recruitment process
DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING
DIPLOMA IN POLICING
• For any police force that is new to accrediting the
Diploma, it is best to ensure that learning is assessed
during accreditation rather than retrospectively
• 62% of apprentices value the fact that they will gain an
accredited qualification in policing
• The majority of apprentices, across both completers and
non-completers, believe that the Diploma is about the
right level
DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING
ESSENTIAL SKILLS WALES (ESW)
• Strong partnership approach
• Providers need to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of
the police service
• Embed delivery and assessment early in the initial training of
recruit constables
• To prevent unnecessary duplication of tasks, assessment
should be considered holistically
• Where possible, link assessment to the evidence required for
the Diploma in Policing units
• Around 78% of apprentices required no additional support
beyond the classroom
DELIVERY – KEY POINTS OF LEARNING
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBITIES
(ERR)
• Clearly outline roles and
responsibilities of all
partners involved
• Completion during
induction
ERR is only a
requirement in
Wales and
Northern
Ireland
DELIVERY - KEY POINTS OF LEARNING
PROGRESS REVIEWS
Lessons learnt
Ideas for future delivery
•
•
•
•
•
Logistical challenges in accessing
apprentices due to the geographically
dispersed BCU units
Nature of police work: many
meetings were missed due to officers
being on initial response
United approach between police
force and provider is required
Progress reviews are valued by
apprentices
•
•
•
Put sanctions in place for apprentices
that fail to take part in the reviews, if
it could have been avoided
Give training providers access to
student rotas
Plan progress review meetings two
months in advance
Embed into existing SOLAP processes
Discussion