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Prison Officer Careers


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Your skills - with new purpose.

A career in the prison service might not be what you might imagine. If you're considering joining our team, we want you to have a realistic view of what it's like to be a Prison Officer on the ground in one of our UK custodial estbalishments. Discover more below!

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Our culture is based on a set of four values: Trust, Care, Innovation and Pride. These values are at the heart of everything we do, shaping the way we treat each other and the way we do business.
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5 adult prisons

around the UK

5,600 prisoners

With an operational capacity to hold over
A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.

Think you know what it's like to work in a prison?

We're proud to be one of the world’s largest providers of public services to governments, with a global team of more than 50,000 people in over 20 countries. We deliver essential public services that touch the lives of millions across the globe, every single day.
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A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.

Discover more about the role

Make no mistake, this is a role where your contribution counts - helping to give people in prison structure within their lives, being a role model to encourage positive choices, and ensuring that they're supported during their rehabilitation journey.

When you're on duty you'll act as mentor and will assure the safety, security and decency of prisoners and perform a pivotal role within the prison and the community it serves.

  • Supervise prisoners in all aspects of wing-based activity
  • Encourage prisoners to go to work or complete the jobs they have within the prison
  • Attend additional education classes
  • Serve food and effectively manage people at risk of self-harm
  • Coordinate operational matters such as headcounts, searches, supervision and security together with administrative processes

Every prisoner reacts differently and you'll see a full range of emotions from; apathy, anger, remorse or trauma. For the person in prison it can be one of the most stressful situations they'll ever encounter, but for you it’s an everyday part of your job.

The service that we provide is available every day of the year across a 24-hour period, meaning you'll cover various shift patterns, including days, evenings, weekends, nights and bank holidays with an average of 40 hours per week.

Once you have passed the selection and vetting process, you'll attend an eight-week Initial Training Course (ITC) at the establishment you're joining, and you'll be required to have 100% attendance. The ITC will provide high quality training where you'll complete a Diploma in Custodial Care and undergo Control and Restraint training. You'll also shadow experienced Prison Officers on shift to give you a real taste of life on the job.

First, you'll need to meet our essential criteria, which includes having the right to work in the UK. Beyond that, we'll check things like your eyesight and physical fitness. We'll also expect you to pass a basic maths and English test along side the ability to demonstrate the personal qualities we're looking for, when you come in for an assessment day. These tests aren't just to make the selection process easier, they're designed to make sure you have the right skills and attitude to get the most from the role. 

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and all offers of employment are subject to security clearance checks and approval by the Home Office.

Our public sector ethos is to pursue a compassionate, rehabilitative approach to reduce the demand on the custodial system and to successfully integrate those in our care back into the community. All of our prisons are Category B or C establishments.

Category B prisons are either local or training prisons. Local prisons house prisoners that are taken directly from court in the local area (sentenced or on remand), and training prisons hold long-term and high-security prisoners.

Category C prisons are training and resettlement prisons; most prisoners are located in a category C. They provide prisoners with the opportunity to develop their own skills so they can find work and resettle back into the community on release.
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HMP Ashfield Bristol

HMP Ashfield is a category C adult male facility that holds 400 convicted prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences. We've been responsible for operating the prison since 2005 and employ around 200 colleagues on site. Our primary purpose at HMP Ashfield is to rehabilitate prisoners in a safe, decent and healthy environment.
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HMP Doncaster, Doncaster

HMP Doncaster is a category B resettlement prison situated in South Yorkshire and houses a male population of up to 1,145 individuals. As a local remand institution, the purpose is to work with the prisoners, particularly those serving less than a 12-month sentence, to ensure that they have access to the support they need for resettlement and post-release.
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HMP Dovegate, Staffordshire

HMP Dovegate is a Category B adult male facility near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, where we house up to 1,060 male adult prisoners over the age of 21 serving a range of sentences. HMP Dovegate runs a Therapeutic Community which is the UK’s only privately-owned, purpose-built facility providing an environment that changes people’s way of thinking with the shared aim of changing lives for the better. 
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HMP Fosse Way, Leicester

HMP Fosse Way is a brand-new resettlement prison in Leicester, housing around 1,700 prisoners who have served most of their sentences and are due for release in the area. The purpose of the prison is to offer support and training so that the people in prison are prepared for a successful reintegration into society with meaningful and paid employment. 
 
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HMP Thameside, London

London's only private prison, HMP Thameside is a local resettlement prison in the Thamesmead area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, situated next to HMP Belmarsh. A new-build prison, successfully completed in 2012, we've run the facility since it opened. The prison quickly and safely responds to the needs of the custodial population within the heart of London.
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A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.

What you can expect from us

Working as a Prison Officer isn't always easy - but it is rewarding. While you're ensuring the safety of those around you, we'll be providing you with the accredited training and development you'll need for a long, successful, and interesting career within Serco. And as well as supportive colleagues we also offer a competitive salary and benefits package too.

Prison Officers are key to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of prisoners, staff and visitors in their prisons. More importantly they play a vital role in reducing reoffending rates among people in prison, which is key to protecting public finances. They do this through encouraging educational and vocational development and through an empathetic approach.

Our prisons hold a huge amount of variety and opportunity, with Prison Officers being able to progress into Operations Management or into specialist services such as Psychology, Education, Health or the Animal unit. There are also opportunities within our Prisoner Escorting Service and Immigration Centres - and of course our other prisons.

Because of our investment in safeguarding and rehabilitation, our prisons are calmer and can be very different to public prisons. You’ll also receive all the training and advice you’ll need from your friendly and supportive colleagues with job shadowing and buddy programmes in place.

There is a clear salary structure in place to reward you as you grow and develop in your role, meaning that you'll gain salary increases after 1, 2 and 3 years’ service. 

As well as a clear salary structure and career progression, we offer you a holiday entitlement of 23 days plus bank holidays, with your holiday entitlement rising after 1 and 2 years in service, up to 6% contributory pension scheme, and Life Assurance. You can also take advantage of Serco discounts, including cinema, Merlin entertainment, online shopping discounts, discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.
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Meet some of the team

Our culture is based on a set of four values: Trust, Care, Innovation and Pride. These values are at the heart of everything we do, shaping the way we treat each other and the way we do business.
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Lee

"I was good at working in a team to safely solve problems, but my career lacked direction. My ability to communicate calmly has helped me to find a more purposeful career path as a Prison Officer."

Linda

"I was looking for a people-focussed role, where I could make a positive change to society. I found it as a Prison Officer, but I never expected to positively impact my career quite so much too."

Alesha

“I still get that feeling of achievement when you know you’ve gained the trust and respect from prisoners. I love the teamwork, the jokes, the colleagues. The friendships you build are strong, as trust is important and needed in this job."

Zahir

"I never considered a career as a Prison Officer, but since becoming one my career’s been interesting, varied, challenging and rewarding. I wouldn’t consider being anything else."

A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.

Our process

The initial recruitment process includes application, online tests, telephone interview and assessment (either face to face or virtual). If successful you'll be required to go through strict security and vetting checks, which will allow you to work in this secure environment. The checks are conducted via the Home Office and can up to six weeks to complete.  

Select the Prison Officer role you're interested in and confirm your right to work status.

Your application will be reviewed by one of our Talent Specialists. If you meet the criteria as set out in the advert you'll be invited via email to complete some online assessments.

If you successfully pass the online assessment, you'll be contacted by one our team for a telephone interview to answer some eligibility screening questions. 

Upon review and passing of the eligibility screening, you'll be booked into either a virtual or face to face interview. 

The interview will take around 1 hour and will consist of:
  • Competency Based Interview
  • Role Play
  • Written Exercise
  • Maths Assessment

Once you've successfully passed your interview, you'll be scheduled in to complete your Fitness Test. The Fitness Test consists of:
  • Bleep Test – You'll be required to complete 15 metre shuttle runs in time with the bleeps and will last approximately 3 minutes and 40 seconds and will have to reach level 5.4. 
  • Agility Test – Running around set course of cones under a particular time scale. 
  • Shield Hold Test – Holding shield out in front of you at a 45-degree angle for 1 minute 
  • Grip Test - 28KG (on both hands)

If you're successful following the assessments, one of our Talent Specialists will call you to make you an offer. If you verbally accept, we'll send you a formal offer of employment.

If there are no immediate roles available, we'll put you in to our talent pool until the next opportunity arises.

The time it takes to complete your vetting varies depending on your work history and where you've lived. While we are waiting for your clearance, one of our Talent Acquisition Specialists will be in touch to let you know next steps and be on hand to answer any questions you may have. We'll also put you in touch with the local vetting contact who can further support you through the process.

Prison Officer training takes 10 weeks and you'll be offered the next place available, subject to clearance. The training consists of both classroom learning and on-the job shadowing and at the end of the training you'll take some tests to ensure you're ready to become a Prison Officer. 
A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.
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Tom
Head of Technical Field Operations and former Prison Officer

"Once you’ve worked in a prison, not much phases you. It builds a resilience that stays with you forever."
Learn more about Martyn's journey
A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see a list of questions we regularly get asked, hopefully you will find the answer below, if not please email our recruitment team and we will be in touch as soon as possible.

As a minimum you'll have to be 18 to apply for a Prison Officer role, if you are not 18 there are other roles that could be available to you.

Maths and English at a minimum key skills level 2 or equivalent.

Our Prison Officers come from very diverse backgrounds. It's more important for you to have the right people skills including excellent verbal and written communication, ability to exercise authority as well as maintaining your integrity and professionalism in a variety of challenging situations. Fantastic observation skills are a must!

Yes, each establishment operates various shift patterns which will include early / lates / days / evenings and night shifts.

You'll need to have a valid passport together with a valid permit or visa, if applicable, or a birth certificate with proof of national insurance, which shows your right to live and remain in the UK.

Within our custodial establishments there is career progression, if you wish to continue with your Prison Officer career you can move in to a management role you can become a Custodial Operations Manager and then Assistant Director and Deputy Director. There are also other departments within the custodial establishments that you can move in to such as; psychology, industries, education and security.

As a large organisation we do have various roles available both within the Justice and Immigration team and the broader Serco Group.

Yes, this will be provided for you during your Initial Training Course.

You'll be assigned a buddy during your first few weeks to suppor you as you start your new role.

This can vary depending on the establishment, but if you are added in to the talent pool you'll have regular contact with the talent specialist where they will provide updates and provisional start dates.

The Initial Training Course (ITC) is an 8-9 week intensive training course during which 100% attendance is mandatory. If you have holiday booked during this time period and you are not able to re arrange, we'll invite you to the next available course.

Yes, you'll be paid. When you start the ITC this is the first day of your employment with Serco.

The ITC will be held at the establishment you have been successful at – there won’t be any requirement to stay away from home.
A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.
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Ready to make an impact?

Challenge. Opportunity. Reward. You'll find all that and more when you start a role with us. 

Explore our current vacancies and take the first step towards transfering your skills to a career with real purpose.
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A sense of mutual respect and mindfulness permeates our culture-in fact, it’s the key to our success.