AND FEE IS NON-REFUNDABLE IF YOU DON’T GET THE JOB
*GRADUATE FOG EXCLUSIVE*
Graduates considering joining the Metropolitan Police are being put off by the high cost of a compulsory new certificate they must have before they can even apply, Graduate Fog can exclusively reveal. Yet today the Prime Minister arrogantly dismissed concerns and insisted in Parliament that “It is not a barrier to recruitment”.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said last week that he is committed to ensuring London’s police force reflects the diversity of the city it protects. So Graduate Fog is alarmed to learn that the force’s new recruitment policy is actively deterring candidates from poorer backgrounds, by stating that wannabe coppers must fork out up to £1,300 to study for a compulsory new Certificate in Knowledge of Policing (CKP) before they can even apply for a job with the Met. Even once they have this, a job is not guaranteed — but it’s tough luck. The fee is non-refundable.
The course is 300 hours, of which 100 are ‘directed learning’ and the rest are ‘home study’. When we questioned the College of Policing, a spokesperson said the change had been made as “the police are moving in a direction of being a true professional service, similar to other professions such as medicine and law” and it is a positive step that candidates now have responsibility to “educate themselves” on policing and “take responsibility for their learning” and show “commitment” to their future as a police officer.
Meanwhile, the Met denied that the hefty price tag for the pre-entry qualification could be off-putting to applicants from poorer backgrounds, and assured us that “financial support mechanisms” — including interest-free loans — are soon to be introduced for less well-off candidates.
Although the planned policy raised some concerns in January including objections from Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh and social mobility chair Alan Milburn and some strong reactions from the public on Twitter, the story has so far been largely unchallenged and given very little media coverage. It had certainly slipped under our radar. But when one of our users emailed to say he had changed his mind about applying to the Met purely because of the cost of the CKP fees, we realised something was seriously amiss.
Some concerns were raised in January about the CKP
Rob, 25 — who has a BA in Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading and an MA in History from Queen’s University Belfast — told Graduate Fog how he decided against applying to the Met when learned about the fees for the CKP:
“I’ve always been interested in policing and — living in London — I was happy to see that the Met were recruiting. However, I couldn’t believe it when I saw I’d need a specific qualification — costing up to £1,300 — before I could even apply.
“Researching the Certificate of Knowledge in Policing, I discovered the course content seems to be little more than basic legal theory that I assumed would be considered part of basic training for successful candidates, once they’ve been accepted. I was amazed that no refunds were offered for those who were unsuccessful and I saw no mention of any loans or grants to help poorer candidates.
“When I contacted the Met’s HR department, they emailed to say ‘This is an occupation related qualification which has been recently introduced.’ That was it.
“Having had only temporary employment since graduating, I decided not to apply, for the simple reason that if I was rejected, it would be wasted money.
“I graduated with £20,000 of student loans and there is no way I can afford to gamble more money on a job I could be rejected for at any stage. I don’t feel it’s fair for the Met to ask for applicants to pay for their own training for a job they may not get — and they will certainly miss out on other young candidates like me who are worried about money. To lots of young people, the £1,300 price tag for the CKP is certainly enough to put us off from applying.”
Theresa May: So far silent on the CKP
A spokesperson for the College of Policing told Graduate Fog:
“There are a lot of changes happening in policing at the moment and as part of that, the job of the College of Policing is to professionalise the service.
“The police are moving in a direction of being a true professional service, similar to other professions such as medicine and law.
“The Certificate in Knowledge of Policing was introduced last year as part of this and like most professions, candidates are required to have undertaken study in the area they wish to work.
“There was nothing in place before the certificate, so now candidates have the chance to educate themselves on policing and take responsibility for their learning.”
David Cameron: CKP will “further professionalise this vital profession”
And the Metropolitan Police emailed us to explain:
“We want to attract the very best people to join our service – people with a commitment to public service and with a knowledge and understanding of the uniquely diverse environment of London. We support any initiative that’s about raising standards and competence in policing, and the CKP has a role to play in that.
“The Winsor Review outlined the direction of travel for police constable entry standards and pre entry requirements for new recruits. Recommending that from April 2013 all recruits should have either a level-3 or an equivalent police qualification that is recognised by the Sector Skills Council.
“As such, Police Regulation 10 has been amended to reflect police constable pre-entry requirements. The CKP was developed in partnership with the College of Policing and Skills for Justice. Against this backdrop the MPS decided to adopt the CKP as a pre joining requirement in July 2013.”
Although the College of Policing created the content for the course, the cost is set by course providers (FE, HE or other training professionals), who charge between £500 and £1,300 per student. To young jobseekers, that’s a lot of money. Aren’t they concerned poorer candidates might be put off? Apparently not. The Metropolitan Police told us they are confident that a new loans system will fix any problem:
“A full Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken as part of the decision making process; this flagged the potential for adverse impact on individuals from BME backgrounds. To mitigate we are introducing financial support mechanisms. From early 2014, the Metropolitan Police will be offering financial support with the cost of the CKP in the form of an interest free loan. This financial support will be available on the basis of London residency and means tested household income.”
So what’s actually in this course? The contents appear to be similar to what they would expect to learn through on-the-job training once they have been accepted on to the force. The College of Policing spokesperson told us:
The Certificate gives you the knowledge and understanding of policing and police law, and to demonstrate some of the critical decision-making skills that are required for the job. It covers a wide range of subjects, which include:
– Using police powers in a fair and just way
– Social and community issues and neighbourhood policing
– Responding to incidents and providing initial support to victims and witnesses
– Conducting Investigations
– Searching premises and searching individuals within a policing context
– Participating in planned policing operations
– Interviewing witnesses and suspects
– Victim support
– The criminal justice system
– Legislation, policy and guidelines
Er, so that’s basically how to do the job of a police officer, then..? In addition to David Cameron’s comments in Parliament today, here is what he said when concerns were raised at Prime Minster’s Questions in January:
“What we’re trying to do through the college of policing, is to even further professionalise this vital profession but I’ll make sure the home secretary contacts her [McDonagh] about this particular issue.”
As far as we are aware, the Home Secretary Theresa May has never commented on the Certificate of Knowledge of Policing or its potential impact on police recruitment.
* ARE THE POLICE RIPPING OFF YOUNG APPLICANTS?
Is it fair to ask applicants to pay for their their own training, before they’ve even been offered a job? Or should the CKP be scrapped? If you were considering applying to the Metropolitan Police, would the £1,300 fee be enough to put you off?
Does this still apply to those who have already done a degree in Policing at university I wonder?
On the subject of unpaid labour…I don’t know whether graduate fog have covered the rather dubious concept of “trial shifts” yet?
I was a victim when trying to get a job in Asda. They got me in for 3 hours of unpaid work only to tell me I was not a “good fit” for the company.
Of course I could have refused but it is an employer’s market and they simply would have picked someone else. It isn’t worth the hassle of trying to claim back £20 but I felt utterly exploited.
@Graduate This is really interesting… Could you email me via this contact form? Please put ‘Trial shifts’ in the subject line so I don’t miss it! I’d really like to hear more.
If anyone else has been asked to do a trial shift, please get in touch too. You can be anonymous if you wish, that’s no problem.
Thanks!
Tanya
Founder, Graduate Fog
Tanya, I’ll be happy to speak to you too. I’m well past the point of applying for jobs which have trial shifts (I hope!), but it’s rife in the retail and hospitality industry and I’ve personally experienced this.
Mind if I get in touch?
Trial shifts are apparently quite common in restaurants, from what I hear from friends.
And, perversely, if you were on JSA and Housing Benefit you’d often be better off not being paid (legally) for a few hours or even a day’s trial shift if the employer doesn’t taken you on – since declaring the small earnings could mess up your finances for weeks.
I’m no fan of the Police as an organisation, individual officers can be ok though. That said when you see/consider the amount of rubbish they have to put up with in there days work, day in day out I would not want to be a Police officer even without having to pay the £1,300. Do teachers have to pay this sort of money, no they get funding and an easier job I feel. I would not want to have to knock on peoples doors telling them their family/relative died, deal with them aftermath of break ins, traffic accidents, murders, drug users, yobs, thugs, arguments, disputes, grief and strife. And they want you to pay to get into this? All for less than a teachers wage a job that is sedate by comparison.
No that is one rut I would rather not get stuck into and the money their paying 19.5k after tax well you might as well find a minimum wage job without the grief and the £1,300 cost not matter how desperate you are for employment.
The comment by Phil is ridiculous! So you have taught for long have you? Teachers have the option of BEd which is 4 years in most cases not 3, so an extra year of loans, or a PGCE – which is another year of tuition, plus your original degree fees, or a GTP, still have 3 years of tuition fees and the salary sacrifice for training on the job in your GTP is in line with tuition fees. So yes, teachers do pay their training! As for an easier job – this like all things is relative and you clearly have no concept of what the day to day is like. You might not want to tell someone their family member has died – neither was I. Though I doubt you would also like to hear a vulnerable child tell you about their abuse, whilst having to look their parents in the eye, whilst it is investigated…support a child who watched their sibling fall in front of a train to the more common support needed for their emotional needs when they are going through parents divorcing, eating disorders, bullying, lack of opportunities on the job market, making bad choices that land them facing court before they hit 16…all whilst trying to get them to learn what is needed to get them to the next stage in their life as best as possible. You may have guessed that I am indeed a teacher in London and my ex was a Met policemen. Neither of us would say are jobs are easier than the other. It would vary on a day to day. He would go to murder scenes and they would be awful and stay with him. Supporting distraught children who watched a friend die and attending a funeral where the average age in attendance is 13 is not exactly easy. We both love our jobs and for the record, starting salary in the Met is higher than a teacher in most cases and you don’t have to have a degree to be in the police – you do as a teacher if you want to work in the public sector. I personally think that adding the certificate costs are nothing more than the police force using candidates to pay for their training, thus cutting costs. I think its poor, but I also think this has become increasingly common place if you look for a job these days and see what the criteria is. Employers do not want to pay to train their employees, this is becoming standard practice, supported by the fact their is a high degree of competition for any job, with more and more “qualified” people being churned out every day. Oh before anyone chimes in about teachers holidays – like many of you I am sure, I leave for work at 6.30am – I get home around 7.30pm if there are no after school events, I mark work and plan until 11.30pm most nights and spend at least 1 day if not more at the weekend planning and making online materials for my students. During all the holidays bar Christmas, I along with lots of the other teachers, run workshops for the students who need more support to achieve their potential. I love my job, but I don’t like it anymore than anyone else does when people assume your life is easier than the next person. You may have been to school, but you no more understand what it is like to be a teacher, than going to a restaurant means you know how to run one.
Well Gemma, Teachers usually talk it up when someone raises the good working conditions they enjoy but often seem ungrateful for by whinging about their lot. Often teachers overplay the negatives or mislead such as the bit you mention about the BEd – as every student in the UK gets 4 years higher education funding this will cover the 4 year BEd course including being able to get grant money (income based) for each of the four years including the last along with extra loans if needed, the PGCE you also get grant money for, etc. The number of graduates being churned out of higher education means many are after teacher training because of the better working conditions, recent news reports and statistics support this statement. Teachers receive very long holidays, good pay, good pensions, field trips abroad (often an excuse for a p*ss up), short working day i.e 8.00-8.30am to 3.00-3.30pm often being given time for marking/preparation within these times. I don’t think many would apply if teaching was a bad deal, it would soon send applicants running. I don’t think one unfortunate incident can really sum up the majority of what most teachers day consists of. For sure there will be pupils being bullied, it tends to be what happens at school, seems to be part and parcel of the school environment that schools don’t seem to be able to get away from. This unpleasantness pales in comparison to the stuff police have to put up with regularly, i.e. people dismembered on the road after car accidents, busting into a drug users house with needles everywhere, etc, etc. I think compared to most people struggling by on 14k or so teachers have their bums wiped.
Hello
I know it’s a silly question but can any 1 plz tell me that ckp is necessary before registering our interest and sending online application form. Because I have already registered my interest and haven’t enrolled for ckp yet. I was thinking I will do it after passing day 2 as I read somewhere that it’s a requirement to do ckp before going for police training.
Ive applied to the Met and made it through to day 1 selection. I was advised by their HR that if I pass the day one test centre to register for the CKP course. I personally think its a joke that you have to pay to join the police infact laughable considering the job is not the easiest and why would they want to make it less attractive to people?. Rich Tories in high places making rules who know nothing of the real world me thinks. I want to work for the met and genuinely care about making my community better for my children and future generations so surely that is more important than some money making course!
Want to become a doctor? Pay £25,000 before you can even apply. Explain the difference?
The pay is the difference Dominic. Use your head.