'One Service Many Careers' event for Young People

This afternoon I was delighted to attend a PSNI Careers Seminar in Cookstown Leisure Centre organised by 'F' district. The seminar was open to year 13 pupils and their Careers Teachers, and 24 schools from across the police district were represented at the event.

The ‘One Service Many Careers’ event was about showcasing the very many opportunities that exist for police officers and support staff to have a career in the Police Service and to allow them to see first hand the equipment and talk to the officers and staff who make up the various disciplines across the Service.

Today was primarily about providing the young people with the knowledge to make informed decisions about a potential career in the wider police family and to show them how they could have the opportunity to make a real and meaningful difference in their communities should they choose to pursue a career in policing.

As each group moved around the various sections they received presentations from officers and support staff, such as Uniformed Police, Tactical Support, Roads Policing and Armed Response, Detectives, Scientific Support, Analysts, Occupational Health, Corporate Communications and Legal Services. Students were shown how the many aspects of the Police Service of Northern Ireland work to support each other, how they join up to provide a service to the community and how they work as many careers in one service.

As I moved around the various sections with some of the young people, I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to as many of them as possible and was greatly encouraged by the questions they asked and the interest they showed. This was a pilot scheme today, and once we have had the opportunity to fully evaluate and debrief the event we hope based on the initial feedback to run a number of similar events across Northern Ireland.

I want to place on record my thanks to the young people and teachers who attended the event toady and to my colleagues in the district and various branches who supported it. It really was a fantastic showcase for the Police Service of Northern Ireland in all of its diversity, and for everything that is good about a career in policing.