Entry Requirements.
For Police and Ambulance.
Introduction.
Entry Requirements. - By, Molly Mason.
What you will need:
- Need Maths and English, at a grade of A-C. You might have to do a number of things that include Maths, such as:
- Adding up fines for a number of offences,
- Adding up hours/minutes on a number of cases,
- Adding up community services hours, etc.
You will need English because, you have to talk to the person committing the crime, in a polite and confident way (respect people, and they shall respect you)
- You need to be clear of drugs, (will get a drugs test) because you will be a role model for the public, for example, if you have done drugs, you are setting a bad example for them to follow.
- 18 or over, police recruitment policies want a mature person, with life experiences.
- A driving licence (or in the process of learning), to get to the crime scene faster.
- Physically and mentally fit, For example, running after a criminal, you will not want to be out of breath, and be able to talk to the criminal and calm them down if angry.
- BMI should be between 19 and 30 (normal weight range), so that your body will be able to deal with the amount of physical activities in the police force.
- Need to be above average core muscular stability, to be able to restrain someone when it is needed.
- No criminal convictions, you should want to set an example for the public to follow, and with a criminal conviction, you are setting the wrong example.
You will be given a set of tests to complete, such as:
- "Endurance Test", which tests the heart and lungs,
- "Push/Pull Test", to test your strength on holding a heavy object or move a heavy object.
Application Processes;
Application forms:
Step 1: - Application Pack;
- Research what force(s) in the area of the country that you would like to work in.
Step 2: - The Paper Sift;
- On receiving your application form the force that you have applied for, will check the quality, and will mark your competency questions.
Step 3: - The Assessment Centre;
- 2 weeks before, you will be sent materials for it. You will be tested on your English skills, verbal reasoning, oral skills and your Maths skills. These are called the "Police Initial Requirements Test" (PIRT), These will be tested in a numerous different ways, such as: Interview, role-play and written tests.
Steps 4&5: - The Medical and Fitness Test;
- These will take place on different days. There are 2 elements to the fitness test, you must pass both tests before you move on to the next step. The police are looking for no more than the minimum standard needed to enable you to work effectively as a police officer. You will be given help to improve on your fitness. If you fail on your first attempt, you are allowed to re-take it. If you fail on your 3rd attempt, your application will come to a stop and will not be allowed to apply for 6 months. Once you have been stated, you will have to maintain your fitness, you will be regularly assessed during probation.
Requirements and advice to help complete application forms;
Do's;
- Neat and easy to read handwriting, so that we are able to read what you have put down,
- Black ink, it is more presentable,
- selections that do not apply should be marked N/A so we know that it doesn't apply and isn't just left out,
- Keep it presentable, it gives us the impression how you are like with organizing.
Don'ts;
- Leave any section blank,
- Use inappropriate words or comments,
- Ignore instructions,
- Use untidy presentation.
Letters of application:
- You write the letter to inform the recruitment officer, about what job you are applying for, you can write where you found the job advertisement and when. Telling them about yourself, e.g. where you graduated from, when you graduated and what was the result.
Personal Statement:
- The personal statement will be with the letter of application, you write about your personal skills/qualities, telling them why you think they should employee you.
Curriculum Vitae's (CV):
- On your CV you should include, your career history, including the duties of the job, when you started to when you stopped working there. Personal experiences, Academic qualifications, personal skills/qualities. You should also include, your address, number, name and email.
- You can hand it in to the receptionist, the management on the floor or the supervisor.
Selection Processes;
Equal Opportunity:
- It doesn't matter if you are male or female, you will get treated the same way.
Physical Tests;
- The "Endurance Tests" which includes, a 15 meter course, which are marked out by lines, where the candidate can run in. The candidate shuttle runs between the lines, in time with the audio bleep. The spaces between the bleep shortens, making the candidate run faster. The candidate should be able to achieve 4 shuttles at level 5.
- The "Push and Pull Test", this is measured on a specifically designed machine, which is like a rowing machine. The candidate should be able to push 34kg and pull 35kg.
Skill Tests:
Psychometric Tests:
- They use a type of test which is called, The PIRT test; It is also known as, The Police Initial Recruitment Test. The tests may include:
- Numerical reasoning skills,
- Logical reasoning skills,
- Speed vs. accuracy skills,
- Verbal abilities.
Preparation for the Interview:
You should know:
- What the employer wants, e.g. confidence, grades etc,
- How to prepare what you are going to say, and how you are going to say it,
- What the company is about, and what the job role consists of,
- How to prepare yourself for the interview, e.g. what to wear,
- How to answer questions appropriately.
Ambulance Service;
- A diploma, foundation degree and BSc level in paramedic science, (or apply as a student paramedic, and you will be trained), so will have a rough idea what you will be doing, and what kind of injuries there are and how to treat them.
OR
- have A-C's in Maths, English and Science, because you will need to know about the human body and what happens, you will have to record it, so the good English skills will come in handy, and for Maths, you will be calculating drug doses, body weight etc,
AND
- A full driving licence (a minimum of 1 year), so you will be able to drive the ambulance,
- Normal colour eye vision, so you will be able to see if a wound is getting infected, (because it normally changes colour),
- Excellent teamwork abilities, so that you are able to get along and work with people, to be able to reach your target,
- Good communication skills, so that you are able to speak to people clearly and confidently. And to be able to write appropriately, with correct grammar.
Useful Requirements:
- Experience dealing with the public, (especially the sick), so you know how to act, and have a rough site in what to do.
- First aid certificates, you should know how to resuscitate someone, when needed.
- Office based work in an ambulance service, you will have to record what is wrong with the patient, in the patients document.
- Eye test, to check that your eye sight is up to standard for the job.
- Fitness test, to see if you are capable to be quick to treat a patient, e.g. running to patient from the ambulance.
Application Process:
Step 1; Are You Ready To Apply?
- Provide a full driving licence, with a good driving record,
- Be able to provide an Unrestricted Light Rigid Driving Licence, as a condition of employment,
- Provide evidence of Mandatory Vaccinations,
- Be willing to relocate to any part of the NSW, if/when needed,
- Should have a good level of medical and physical fitness, to be able to pass the tests to help get the job.
Step 2:
- The application has been sent to the NSW.
Step 3; I've Applied, What To Do Next?
- It takes 6-12 months for the application process to happen. It can take up to 2 years, but they will notify you on your process. Your application will go through several stages during the recruitment selection process. After each stage you will be informed if your application has been unsuccessful. If that is the case, you will be able to re-apply during the next recruitment campaign.
Stage 1:
- Apply online, complete all items from the checklist. Once you have sent it, you will be receive a receipt email to confirm, that you application has been received.
Stage 2:
- Application is suitable, you will be invited to make payment for the occupational suitability test on Monday, 23rd September. You will begin the test between 1-3 October 2013.
Stage 3:
- If you have been considered competitive, you will be invited to attend an interview.
Stage 4:
- If your interview comes back as competitive, they will carry out the reference, by contacting your nominated referees. They will be do service checks to verify the information received throughout the application process.
Stage 5:
- If the referees confirm that you are suitable for the role, you will be then requested to obtain a Working with Children Check. The ambulance service will also request your permission to carry out a National Criminal Record Check.
Stage 6:
- If they come back as satisfactory, you will be then invited to take the health assessment.
- If you then pass the health assessment, and you have competitively gone through every stage process, you will then be informed that your application is successful. On the other hand, this doesn't mean you have a automatically job within the ambulance service, it means that you are on the Eligibility Waiting List, so when vacancies arise, throughout the year, the jobs will be offered to the applicants on the waiting list.
Step 4; I Didn't Get In, Now What?
- Applicants may re-apply during the next recruitment campaign. The ambulance will not be able to give personal feedback, due to the high volume of applicants.
Requirements and advice to help complete of application:
Do's:
- Read instructions carefully,
- Make sure you fill in all the sections of the application form,
- Give evidence on why you are suitable for the job,
- Use Black pen,
- Appropriate language.
Don'ts:
- Ignore instructions,
- Leave any blanks on the application form.
Letters of application:
- You will be writing to tell the Ambulance service, why you are suitable for the job, what skills you have got, e.g. quick reaction, confidence etc. What qualifications you may have to due with medical, or core subjects e.g. Maths, English and Science.
Personal Statement:
You should include:
- What universities you have applied to. For example, University of Central Lancaster DipHE - offer unconditional form.
- What grades you have achieved, such as: Biology (A2) - B, Chemistry (A2) - C, German (A2) - C etc.
- Telling them what skills and qualities you may have, such as: communication, teamwork.
Curriculum Vitae's (CV):
- You should give your CV in with your application form, to the receptionist at a hospital.
Selection Process:
Physical Tests:
- The Grip Test: This test is performed up to 3 times for each hand. You will be expected to be able to reach a score of 40-35 for men, and 40-32 for women. In the dominant hand 38-33 for men, and 38-30 for women. It is to measure how strong the hand and arm muscles are.
- Leg and Back Pull: It is to test the strength of your leg and back muscles. You will be asked to pull against a resistance in a standing position. You will be expected to reach a score of, 150kg for men and 140kg for women.
- Stand and Reach: This is performed sitting on the floor, and reaching towards a measurement board. You will expected to reach a measurement of 30cm.
Skill Tests:
You should pass:
- A Numeracy Test, to test your ability with numbers,
- Verbal Response Test,
- Literacy Test,
- A test on the Highway Code.
Medical Test:
You should pass:
- An occupational health screening, which consists of,
- The manual dexterity, it tests your hand-eye coordination and your gross motor skills,
- Normal colour vision, which tests how well you can see and whether or not you can see in colour, not in black and white or sepia etc.
Psychometric Tests:
- They are seeing whether or not you have the right state of mind to do this kind of job. It measures your knowledge, ability, attitudes, personality traits, and educational assessments. Where in this case, they are seeing whether you are able to hand blood, sites of breakages in the body, unconsciousness etc.
Preparation for Interview:
You should know:
- How to present your answers,
- Appropriate comments,
- What you are going to say.
3 Qualities:
- Communication, is important for both the police and ambulance service because, they need to get information from people. To either help catch a criminal or help cure a patient. The police, for example needs communication, so they would be able to speak to witnesses about what they have seen, or help solve conflict between 2 drunken people. The ambulance service, for example needs communication so that will be able to talk to the patients about what is wrong, and what they are going to do step by step to help the situation.
- Teamwork, is important for both the police and ambulance service because, they need to make sure that they achieve their goal quickly. The police and the ambulance service both use teamwork in the same way, they both need good leadership, so 1 person is making sure everyone is doing there role correctly, which links in with command and control, they also need to have camaradary, so that there inst any problems and they can achieve their goals quickly and efficiently.
- Problem Solving, is important for both the police and the ambulance service because, they should be able to solve a problem that has risen, quickly and efficiently. The police, for example needs to have problem solving skill, so they are able to solve even the hardest of situation, such as: a murder case. The ambulance service, for example needs to have problem solving skill, so that they are able to act quickly, such as: a patient has suddenly gone into a cardiac arrest, they are able to act quickly to solve this problem.
3 Skills:
- Commitment, is important for either the police or the ambulance service, even though they are committed to do different things, such as: the police are committed into keeping the society safe, by locking up the offenders. And the ambulance service are committed into saving peoples lives and making them well again. If they are not committed, and have the "Can't be bothered" mood, then the environment will be ruined, e.g. graffiti-ed on, windows will be smashed/boarded up, because the people who are doing these, are not getting caught because the police can not be bothered. People's lives will be in jeopardy, because the paramedics are being lazy and not committed into making them well.
- Reliability, is important for both the police and the ambulance service to have, because without it. No one will have faith in you, whether you are a police officer or a paramedic, if people can't rely on you to help out, then no one will be bothered to come to you. For the police, people will get there own back on other people, because they feel like can't go to police because they are unreliable, so more crimes will be committed. For the ambulance service, more people will end up loosing there lives because they can not come to you, so they will take medicines that will not help to matter, so they will keep getting worse.
- Good Attitude, it is important to have this for either the police and the ambulance service, because if you had a bad attitude, especially for the police, people are going to rebel, and maybe get there tempers up and lash out at them. If you have good attitude, people are going to respect you for being nice and kind. If you had a bad attitude in the ambulance service, people will think that you are going to rough with treating them, and not caring about how they might feel. Whereas if you did, people will trust you, because they know you will be gentle.