Force contact apprentice Review
at West Midlands Police
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Customer Service
Birmingham
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
2.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
2.5/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
-
Skills Development
2.6/5
-
Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
The role of my job includes answering phone calls from the members of the public for both 101 and 999
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
1/5
I enjoy the call taking aspect of this programme but i feel the apprenticeship was not very supportive of anything which caused alot of issues in the long run of things. the staff at the training academy were alot more supportive than the people in charge of the apprenticeship.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I have learnt how to answer emergency calls as i never knew how this worked before this job and also how to deal with different situations which have improved my communication skills
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
1/5
The call handling side of things cannot be faulted at all, the apprenticeship side was very unorganised and messy, we were given little to no heads up about the portfolio work which could have been started at the start of this programme. expectations would constantly change aswell as the course length would keep changing which was very difficult as no one would know what is happening.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
I have received alot of support from the training academy for call handling which cannot be faulted, they are always providing feedback and are there with you every step of the way, whether thats a good or a bad day they are with you. West midlands police have given me alot of opportunities which i may not have been able to do if i was not in this apprenticeship, the training academy have been the best help they could be even when they knew very little about this apprenticeship
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
1/5
Since i have started this apprenticeship i have only spoken to my apprentice manager approximately 4 times over the year i have been employed which i dont feel was very supportive as alot of my course was left to my supervisors which was unfair as they did not know much about this apprenticeship. When me and my colleagues were told one thing and we would ask about this again it would either get denied or the story would have been changed, this caused alot of confusion to alot of us which lead to us going into alot of things blind and not knowing what was actually going on. I feel the revision packages i have been given have not been helpful and my portfolio that needs to have been completed was given to us with little to no time to finish it when we could have been told about it alot sooner. the apprenticeship for force contact feels like it has been brushed away and forgotten about and receive little to no praise unless it is from my supervisors in my role i am in.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
i have been opportunities such as visiting the different areas of force contact which has given me more exposure to the different roles
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
3/5
the force offer activities such as football games, horse riding etc. i do not take part in these activities as these are not my kind of thing
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend West Midlands Police to a friend?
Yes
Why?
I feel like WMP are a great force to work for and are constantly improving every month overall aswell as force contact who have now been recognised for the quick call taking skills. i feel this force is very rewarding and you get to help people every day.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to West Midlands Police?
You need to be confident when applying, you do have your bad days but it does get better and you need to give it time to improve as it is not always easy. The force is very rewarding and you will get exposure to alot of new things which can be challenging but you need to have faith.
