South Wales Police Student Constable Campaign January 2022

*****This advert has been extended and will now close on the 17th January 2022 at 17:00*****

Are you looking for a new, varied and rewarding career? If so, we are recruiting police officers to join South Wales Police. Make #TeamSWP your next stop!

South Wales Police is a team like no other, working together as one to keep South Wales safe. A career in policing demands skill, compassion, leadership, initiative, and a genuine desire to make a difference to society.  The role can be challenging, and you will need to be resilient and resourceful.  Support is available, but a high level of commitment is required on a journey that requires balancing academic requirements and a new role within a 24/7 policing service. It is a job like no other and we are looking for people with diverse skills and experiences to join our successful team.

If this is for you there are now more ways to join us as a police officer than ever before.

Which route will you choose?

Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA):
This is a 3-year professional degree apprenticeship. Upon completion, successful candidates will achieve a Degree in Professional Policing Practice. To apply for the PCDA entrants must have achieved a Level 3 qualification (which is 2 A levels or equivalent) or have successfully completed the online verbal reasoning and calculation assessment. Apprentices appointed need to have already achieved a GCSE Grade A-C in Maths and English, or a Level 2 Equivalent.  If not they will need to complete the Essential Skills qualification during their training to fulfil the requirement of the Apprenticeship Scheme. South Wales Police will meet all course fees relating to this entry route. The PCDA means that you have the opportunity to earn while you learn and achieve a degree.

Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP):
The Degree Holder Entry Programme is for those who already hold a degree in any subject area but want to join the force. This is a two-year programme combining on-the-job practical learning and operational competence with academic learning. Upon completion, successful candidates will also achieve a Diploma in Professional Policing Practice. The force covers all course fees relating to this entry route.  Candidates already enrolled on the Diploma in Professional Policing Practice course are ineligible for this entry route.  Please apply to this specific campaign which will open on the 31st of January 2022.

The starting salary for both routes is £21,654
Whichever route you choose, you will be expected to reach the same level of professional competence by the end of your probation period.

Successful candidates will receive the highest level of training and support and you can expect excellent career prospect and benefits. Please see our website for further details. You will spend your first 6 months within training where you will learn the relevant legislation and processes alongside technical skills such as Personal Safety Training, First Aid and force computer systems. Following this you will deploy (with a tutor constable initially) to a uniformed response team working a rotating shift pattern of days (0700-1700), onto afternoons (1500-2300 or until 0300 on Friday / Saturday) and onto nights (2200-0700) across 7 days of the week followed by 4 rest days. This will include Public Holidays.

During your 2 or 3 year probationary period, you will be required to evidence your operational competence by dealing with a variety of different Police incidents. You will also be required to achieve the relevant Policing academic degree qualification delivered by the force’s selected University partner (University of Wales Trinity St David) which will require you to complete 280 hrs study per year in your own time.

This will roughly equate to 1 rest day in each set of 4. This is a very rewarding, but challenging programme and whilst the force will provide you with some protected learning time you will be required to undertake significant private study.

Applicants must successfully achieve both the operational and the academic elements of the programme in order to be retained past your probationary period.

Academic elements will include examinations, assignments and research project /dissertation.

South Wales Police encourages individuals from under-represented groups to join so we can achieve a workforce representative of the communities we serve.

All applicants please note that the highest level of qualification certificate must be uploaded before you can submit your application. If you are not in possession of a valid certificate, you must obtain a confirmation letter of your results prior to commencing the assessment centre.  If you achieve a higher level of qualification during the recruitment process, please forward this to us as soon as possible in order that we can amend your application accordingly.

All applicants will also need to meet the Eligibility criteria for the role of police constable 2020.pdf which is set nationally.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Here’s what else you need to know.

 
The applications process will go live at 09:00 hours on 06/01/2022 and close at 17:00 hours on 17/01/22.  Please note the response for this advert is anticipated to be high and South Wales Police reserves the right to close early when we receive sufficient applications. Only completed applications will be accepted at that point, therefore applicants should consider this, and early completion and full submission is advised.

Please note the online tests are not compatible with handheld devices e.g. tablet or mobile phone so must completed on a desktop/Laptop computer. Also note that we can only reset a test once. It is also advisable to register and complete the application process on the same device to avoid compatibility issues.
Follow instructions to complete and submit the online application prior to the deadline. Late applications will not be considered.

Please note, if you apply and are appointed via the PCDA entry route as your highest level of qualification, you are not eligible to transfer to the DHEP route should you achieve a degree post-appointment.  If you achieve your degree pre-appointment, you can request to transfer your application to the DHEP candidate pipeline.

Please be informed that you can only attend a Virtual Assessment Centre nationally, twice in a 12-month period, please consider this if you have recently been unsuccessful at assessment centre.

Applicants requiring reasonable adjustments for the assessment centre must be able to provide evidence to support the request. Applicants enquiring about additional reasonable adjustments should do so via the HR Recruitment team (email as below).

 All prospective police officers will be required to participate in Biometric Vetting e.g., to provide samples of fingerprints - please refer to the guidance attached.

We anticipate that the assessment will be held on 21st February 2022. Please note these will be the only dates available for this recruitment campaign.

South Wales Police reserves the right to restrict the candidate numbers attending the assessment centre and subsequent intake numbers in line with organisational requirement.  This means you could be allocated to a future assessment centre.

Please note the assessment centre is part of the national recruitment standards set by the College of Policing. More information is available on their website by entering the attached link: -

https://recruit.college.police.uk/Officer/after-I-apply/Pages/Constables-Assessment-Centre.aspx .

Please refer to our website for full details about what the role entails, eligibility criteria, the application process and answers many of the frequently asked questions you may have.

If you can’t find the answers you were looking for, you can also email your queries to the HR Recruitment team at HR-Policeofficercampaigns@south-wales.pnn.police.uk  or call 01656 869415 or 01656 869225.

Opening hours for queries are Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm.