Two apprenticeship awards for Thames Valley Police in 2020

In November 2020, Thames Valley Police was recognised with two separate awards for its apprenticeship programme.

The force was named as the West Berkshire Training Consortium Rising Star & Employer Awards large employer of the year 2020.

Additionally Oxfordshire Learning & Enterprise Partnerships named Thames Valley Police as its Apprentice Employer of the Year 2020, where over 50 or more people are employed.

In order to fulfil the NPCC Policing Vision 2025, five years ago TVP embarked upon an ambitious plan led by our Learning & Professional Development team to enhance the provision of apprenticeships across the force.

Since 2018, we have introduced three new apprenticeship programmes: Emergency Service Contact Handler, Police Community Support Officer, and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship. We also have apprentices in a variety of staff roles, learning in various departments across the force. We currently have 320 apprentices working towards completing their programmes.

In announcing their award, Claire Richards, Director of Curriculum at West Berkshire Training Consortium (WBTC), said: “This award is a reflection of the commitment and support you have shown to your apprentices and the apprenticeship programme.” WBTC are a training provider of TVP, working in partnership to deliver business administration apprenticeships in departments including Finance, Forensics, Learning & Professional Development, Corporate Communications and People Services.

Andy Wilson, Head of Apprenticeship and Team Leader Development at Oxfordshire Learning and Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), who judged the Large Employer entries on behalf of sponsor Clarkson Evans, said: “Considering TVP is such a large organisation their attitude towards apprenticeships and the support given is commendable. They offer a superb programme with lots of support from day one.”

Amanda Thomson Learning and Professional Development Business Partner and TVP’s Lead on Apprenticeships, said: “Thames Valley Police appreciates the recognition awarded to us from Oxfordshire Learning & Enterprise Partnerships and the West Berkshire Training Consortium. My congratulations to all those who have contributed to making a success of the TVP Apprenticeship programme and most importantly to our Apprentices who have blended work and learning to ensure they have the up to date skills required of Thames Valley Police.”

Modern apprenticeships offer much more than the old school stereotype; they offer people of all ages the opportunity to earn and learn simultaneously, appealing to career changers as well as college leavers.

Thames Valley Police is committed to making apprenticeships appeal to a broad age range of people; of the 316 apprentices currently employed across the force 46% are over the age of 26 – indeed 5 of our apprentices within Contact Management and PCSO are over the age of 56, proving it’s never too late to try something new.

These awards were timely, as they were made on the cusp of TVP introducing apprenticeships to our Police Officer entry routes; our first cohort of student officers for the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) joined the force on 23rd November 2020. The youngest member of the cohort is 21, the oldest 43 so it is encouraging to see policing continuing to appeal to a wide range of people.”

Chief Constable John Campbell, said: “The enhancement of initial training through apprenticeships is a part of the continuing need to develop and invest in our people. It is fantastic to be recognised in this way and I would like to thank everyone involved in the development and implementation of our apprenticeship programme. Thank you for your continued dedication and support as we work together to ensure we have the best training possible and so ensure our staff can effectively protect the public.”

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