Prison officer : Career development

Opportunities for promotion exist throughout the Prison Service in Scotland, England and Wales. Posts involving greater responsibilities and staff management form the obvious promotion pathway. Other opportunities include work at training or service headquarters, or work within specialist projects in the service, such as rehabilitative work with specific groups of prisoners or their families.

Officers with ability are encouraged to apply for promotion as soon as they feel ready. This involves going through a series of selection procedures designed to assess skills and the ability to operate at the next level. There are four levels to aim for in England and Wales:

• senior officer;
• principal officer;
• manager;
• senior manager.

Opportunities may also arise for secondments to other establishments and for appointments at HM Prison Service ’s London headquarters and area offices throughout England and Wales.

In Scotland, promotion for officers is available at first-line managerial and senior managerial levels. Having completed the probationary period of one year, officers are able to apply for promotions and will be assessed on individual merit and ability.

Career development follows a more structured pathway on the intensive NOMS programme for graduates and in-service staff in England and Wales. New prison officers spend at least one year as a prison officer, then a further year as a senior officer, before applying for accreditation as an operational manager (junior governor) under the scheme.

Specialist prison officer posts are also available, but may require qualifications in the relevant specialism, e.g., health care or nursing. All specialist officers are first and foremost prison officers and undergo the same training. Physical education officers are also employed, but not recruited directly - they are selected from serving officers.

The requirements of managerial posts vary based on management experience and qualifications. Prison officers are required to satisfy these standards in a similar way to anyone with a non-prison background.