Force contact apprentice Review
at West Midlands Police
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Customer Service
West Midlands
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
2.7 /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
-
Overview of Role
4/5
-
Skills Development
2.4/5
-
Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
2/5
When i applied to be a force contact apprentice, my roles should have been training in call handling, front office and dispatch. However 6 Months into the apprenticeship we was told we are not aloud to train in dispatch and this was an apprenticeship for a call centre. My day to day role is answering the phones, doing intel checks and making decisions to safe guard the public.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
2/5
I have not enjoyed taking calls as a call centre job is not what i wanted to do. If i had known when applying for this apprenticeship that it was solely a call centre job then i probably would not have applied. I did however enjoy working in the front office as face to face customer service is where i thrive. i was disappointed when dispatch was removed from the apprenticeship so i will never know if i would have enjoyed it .
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
The west midlands Police mentor's have been brilliant and supportive towards the apprentices. They have taught use lots of knowledge. the experience i have gained is how to answer a phone, to remain calm and empathetic in stressful situations and how to do intel checks
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
1/5
The apprenticeship programme is not organised or structure well. The apprentices where told different things , we have not work plan or deadline. work for the apprenticeship was dropped on us at the last minute. we hardly see our apprenticeship manager and questions were not answered well by her. Booklets that should have been sent to us at the start of our apprenticeship was not sent to us until 1 year later. When it came to writing up our portfolios we had to change them many times due to being told different criteria on several occasions. Apprentices often had to make contact with our apprenticeship manager to find out what we needed to do but the response was not clear
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
The West Midlands Police employer has been great . they are supportive, patient and have tried to help us the best they can. I can;t praise my mentor's enough.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
1/5
They support from the training provider has not been great at all when it come to the apprenticeship side. They have been supportive with my learning disabilities though.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
The apprenticeship scheme has allowed me more time to learn the job which has been a great help as i needed more time to take in all the information and gain new skills.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
2/5
No i don't get involved
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend West Midlands Police to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Working for West Midland Police has been a great experience and force contact have been very supportive and patient.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to West Midlands Police?
Allow yourself time to learn . The knowledge you gain will be overwhelming at first but overtime your confidence will grow
