Bingham: Nottinghamshire Police apprentices land permanent jobs

A former teacher and receptionist are the among first apprentices to earn permanent roles at Nottinghamshire Police.

The apprentice scheme was established in 2019 and has recruited a number of people for various roles across the Nottinghamshire Police service who are now completing their apprenticeships.

Matthew Royston, of Burton Joyce, formerly taught at a primary school in Manchester but has now been offered a permanent job as a supplies manager at Nottinghamshire Police after completing a Level 5 facilities and building surveyor apprenticeship with the force.

He said: "I’m really enjoying the job. I’m leading a team of four and together we supply and distribute uniform, body armour and operational stuff like handcuffs to officers across the force; I have to juggle a lot but it’s good fun.

"My background was in teaching so I was initially sceptical about how my skills would transfer, however I was encouraged to look into the police apprentice scheme by a family friend who worked for the force after I mentioned a desire to try something different.

"The apprenticeship gave me on-the-job experience mixed in with written work and learning in an academic format."

He added: "I learnt a lot in my apprenticeship and was appointed supplies manager in June, it’s already proving to be a great next step in my career."

Rebecca Tansley, of Mansfield, was also offered a permanent job at the police after completing her apprenticeship with the force in business administration.

She said: "I’ve learnt such a lot since starting my apprenticeship. I’ve had lots of training and I’m excited to now be putting that into practice.

"It’s an incredibly varied and busy role; each day I am involved in pulling together up-to-date reports regarding GPS tagging, registered sex offender briefings as well as recalls, if someone has been recalled to prison, we have to update our teams so they have the latest intelligence."

Nottinghamshire Police's apprenticeship scheme is open to anyone aged 18 or over.

Chief constable, Craig Guildford, said: "It is great to see the first cohort of staff apprentices prove to be so successful.

"There is clearly a great wealth of ability out there and we want to do everything we can as a force to harness this, as this can only make us better as an organisation.

He added: "It's win-win situation, apprentices earn while they learn and have the opportunity to land a permanent role with us; the force benefits as it enables us to develop skills relevant to the organisation.

"The work we do with staff apprentices complements the impressive work we are also doing with our police officer apprenticeships, giving us access to some great talent and a diverse set of individuals."

The programme is looking for individuals with drive, ambition and desire to contribute to the organisation.

Depending on your apprenticeship, apprentices are employed on a 12 to 24 month contract, with a working week of 37 hours and a competitive £16k to £18k per annum.

For more information about apprenticeships at Nottinghamshire Police visit their website here.