Anyone in the prison service who can help with these questions??

BAILEYS6904

silkyuk9 wrote: »

no but maybe you would like to stand by him when he is out on the line.

I'll ask him to stand next to the OH thats been in for the last 15 years, shall i?

silkyuk9

BAILEYS6904 wrote: »

I'll ask him to stand next to the OH thats been in for the last 15 years, shall i?

Well i'm sure you other half knows how service people feel about coming out onto civvy street and getting back into employment.

my son joined the army stright out of school at 16. This will be his first 'big' application form he has filled in. When you talk to lots of service people in public sector jobs, or front line jobs in civvy street they will tell you its very hard to get in these days, back in the 70's and 80's you porberylcould come out of the army and straight into jobs such as police, fire service and ambulance. I know this is true as I work for NHS and i have dealings with the police and fire service. The days have long gone when you can think that you can walk out of army after years of service and get in with ease joining the police etc.

As i say my son was 16 when he went into the army, he is nearly 21 now and just thinking about coming out to a job that will satisfy his needs. The police is no good they are laying off 60k in the next year, a fire chife has told me that in places like London when jobs become available over 10k applications are sent in, and the first way of eliminating the wheat for the chaff is by sifting through the application forms.

Now, my son is not stupid, ive said this before on this thread, he does not know ive asked for advice, this was purely for me to advise my son if he said he wasnt sure of the question. What am i supposed to say to him if he asks for fatherly advise, 'Sorry son dont know'?

I'm glad to hear your OH is serving in the army and is still safe after 15 years of service, don't know what he does as you have not said.

If I can get the help as ive requested by explanations, and thats all i wanted then it makes my life a little easier. Im not asking for an easy opening as the job in question is as serious as being in the army we are talking peoples lives but I would like at least for him to have a decent application form sorted and at least make the 1st process. If this is wrong then shoot me.

BAILEYS6904

I think what people are basically trying to say here is, even if we advise answers, or advise on the questions, if he doesnt understand it himself, once at the interview and questioned further, he'll come unstuck and make himself look foolish.

He needs to think himself about what experience he has learned in the army, and equate that to civvie street. Questions like the ones you have posted, there are no right or wrong answers, its more about your perception of the questions. Every one of those questions you son will have covered off whilst serving, its just a matter of him applying his experience to them. Or even better, if there are things he is proud of whilst serving, how can he use these questions to demonstrate his achievements to the interviewer. That will show them the type of person he is, what he's about, what his views are, or what he considers important. It just gives them an insight into the person's peronality and charcter, which has got to be one of the most important things in the job applied for. Thats why he has to answer them himself, otherwise its someone else personlaity or character they're assessing, as oppose to your son.

HTH x

BAILEYS6904

And thank you for the wishes for OH. He came back from the sandy place early this year, so making the most of the time till next year now lol x

Oldernotwiser

silkyuk9 wrote: »

Now, my son is not stupid, ive said this before on this thread, he does not know ive asked for advice, this was purely for me to advise my son if he said he wasnt sure of the question. What am i supposed to say to him if he asks for fatherly advise, 'Sorry son dont know'?

Well, yes - if you actually don't know!

I would also suggest that he is unlikely to be accepted as a Prison Officer so young and with no relevant experience, although he has slightly more chance if he looks at going in as Operational Support. This is fortunate as this is the area that is actually recruiting at the moment.

Your son also needs to do some research of his own beforehand, stating with familiarising himself with the appropriate website.

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/

silkyuk9

BAILEYS6904 wrote: »

And thank you for the wishes for OH. He came back from the sandy place early this year, so making the most of the time till next year now lol x

glad to hear it, my son has the chance to leave in November if he gets employement, otherwise another tour of the sandy place. This is why I want things done correctly. We only have a certain ammount of luck in life.

silkyuk9

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Well, yes - if you actually don't know!

I would also suggest that he is unlikely to be accepted as a Prison Officer so young and with no relevant experience, although he has slightly more chance if he looks at going in as Operational Support. This is fortunate as this is the area that is actually recruiting at the moment.

Your son also needs to do some research of his own beforehand, stating with familiarising himself with the appropriate website.

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/

actually thats the position he is looing at. thanks

BAILEYS6904

silkyuk9 wrote: »

glad to hear it, my son has the chance to leave in November if he gets employement, otherwise another tour of the sandy place. This is why I want things done correctly. We only have a certain ammount of luck in life.

Completely understand. Sometimes I think its the loved ones of the armed forces that worry more than the sons/daughters/partners that are actually out there. I know i do lol. Just keep telling myself its part of the job, if OH wanted to leave, obviously I would do what i could to support him. Unfortunately, he doesnt lol.

Best of luck for your son, Armed forces give so much experience and skills that are required in prison service/police, your son just needs to apply what he has learnt/experienced to what the job is asking for. xx

Saver-Rob

There seem to be alot of people chipping in here who are guessing rather than being factual.

The Prison Service is strongly moving away from the ex-military type of Officer. People recommending this to be to his benefit should know that I am aware of people who are turned down purely because they used to be in the forces.

Oldernotwiser - you have been misinformed. Although working as an OSG is useful before becoming an Officer, this applies to somebody of 49 as much as somebody of 19. They are no less likely to take you on because of age. It is purely based on merit during the application process (which I cant give any information on as I am not fully aware of the stages at the moment).

As for somebody helping someone on their application, it is not really a problem as everything really hinges on the role play situations as well as any exams or tests required these days.

You should know that the grade of 'Prison Officer' is now closed. There will never be another 'Prison Officer' recruited. There will, however, be the 'new' grade of Prison Officer 2. The job is very similar but the pay and conditions are not as good. People applying should be aware that they may not be paid the 'unsocial hours' payment (which they might assume) as they might be required to just work daytimes. You must look at the basic pay and decide if this is enough for you to live on.

benebabe

Hi there, has he looked at the private prison sector? I didn't see where you are based, so couldn't advise on local private prisons.

I would say additional areas of questions to be prepared for are conflict resolution, security (seems obvious but very important), diversity. The other areas of resettlement, re-offending, team building and problem solving were already mentioned I think.

In terms of fitness tests, since he is in the army he should be fine.

Good luck to him!