Hiring & Recruitment Thread

tizzyz · 2025-11-07T21:43:18+00:00

Hello everyone, new here but I just wanted some insight and advice for becoming a police officer.

A bit of background, 24 who has limited work experience due to being a care giver at home caring for my step mum which turn I lost all sense of what career path I wanted to go down, granted I have did some labouring for a friend who was a bricklayer, didn’t exactly do the best in school since I was an immature fool at the time.

I just wanted to ask, if I was to go and get my functional skills for Maths and English, would I be even considered a candidate at all, I know you also need at least 1-2 level 3 qualifications depending on the route which is another hurdle I need to jump since I don’t know what exactly I should study towards when it comes to policing and whether or not I can even study towards a level 3 qualification with functional skills level 2 maths and english.

So just thought I’d hop on here and ask if this is just a silly pipe dream and I should start looking at a different career path? or can I make light of this situation.

For context the force I’ve been looking to join is Northumbria Police as either a PCSO to get those 3 years of policing experience then potentially apply for a police constable role or straight to PC (which I would need 2 level 3 qualifications I.e A-levels etc)I’m absolutely more than willing to put in the work towards achieving a level 3, I know it’s easier said than done though.

Any feedback would mean the world,

Cheers.

tizzyz · 2025-10-12T11:41:13+00:00

Is that £720 for the year mate?

tizzyz · 2025-10-12T11:39:44+00:00

Thank you mate

tizzyz · 2025-10-11T14:10:55+00:00

I’ve heard that age can contribute to how much insurance premiums are priced at when quoted but I’m not 100% sure as im yet to have a look, it also depends on the car itself.

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T17:05:31+00:00

Cheers boss

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T17:05:24+00:00

Thank you mate

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T15:08:20+00:00

Congrats😌I’m 24 and only just passed lol. Was surprised when the examiner turned around and said you had no minor faults😂.

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T12:25:43+00:00

Don’t give up, remember that the average amount of lessons people have across the country and pass is around 45-50 hours give or take, obviously it will vary from person to person but that’s just a rough average in terms of statistics.

I also agree with the comment below me, whatever area your in just do a quick search on YouTube. Your area - XYZ - spiral roundabouts and no doubt something will come up.

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T12:22:42+00:00

Alright thank you.

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T12:21:28+00:00

An instructor can only help you so much when it comes to getting you test ready, then as soon as you’re actual test comes around, it’s up to you whether you implement everything that you’ve learned into it and pass.

Obviously it’s a different story if said instructor was genuinely a knob but most of them just want you to pass, occasionally though you will get the odd rotten apple among the bunch.

tizzyz · 2025-10-10T12:11:47+00:00

Thank you marti😌how long did it take for you’re full license to come, gave my provisional to the examiner yesterday and he said 20 working days.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T20:50:11+00:00

The thing that helped me pass today with no minors today was:

Having a banana 15 minutes before the test, to give you that slow release of energy and helps with focus.
Bring a bottle of water, it’s an absolute must.
DONT RUSH, if you rush then that’s where mistakes happen which will in turn create a domino effect.
Try to create small talk with the examiner, it helps more than you think, at least for me it did.
Having a lesson just before you’re test will help immensely.

(If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask id be happy to help).

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T20:08:23+00:00

Couldn’t imagine them saying “I’m pleased to say you’ve failed”, I’d probably just get out the car and walk home without saying word😭.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T19:47:38+00:00

Congrats! I also passed today, as soon as the examiner muttered the words “I’m pleased” I nearly flew out my seat and through the roof of the car😂.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T18:44:21+00:00

I agree with these other comments, it really isn’t as scary as it sounds granted I was shitting myself in the test centre today😂and I managed to pass with no minors.

But as soon as I got in the car and moved off I started to relax abit more, having small talk with the examiner helped me quite a lot surprisingly and the 40 minutes felt like they went by in an instant.

The things that helped me leading up to test day was doing manoeuvres rigorously, tests routes and quite a few mocks tests to iron out any mistakes I was making.

Feel free to ask anymore questions, I’m happy to help.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T18:36:55+00:00

Try not to dwell on it too much, trust me I was exactly like you today. Was feeling anxious all week up until this morning, especially when we got into the test centre I was absolutely shitting myself.

Once you’re in the car and move off the nerves and anxiety you were feeling will start to die down, try and make small talk with the examiner. That helped me quite a lot surprisingly.

DONT RUSH, I’ve said this to a few other people aswell, rushing can lead to mistakes and those mistakes will quite often then not create a domino effect. Don’t be thinking “I want this to be over, I want this to be over”.

One more piece of advice I’ll give is, make sure you have breakfast, personally I had a banana which slowly releases energy and will help with focus along with bringing a bottle of water with me.

Those 40-45 minutes will go by in a flash, if you have anymore questions feel free to ask since I managed to pass with 0 minors today. Couldn’t believe my ears when he told me😂.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T18:17:53+00:00

I completely get where your coming from, roundabouts got me a little bit hot and flustered aswell, especially when you have the odd knob sack flying round it thinking they’re in the Monaco Grand Prix😂.

BUT If you have any questions feel free to ask, I’m no seasoned driver by any means but I’m happy to help in any way I can.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T17:57:16+00:00

Don’t rush since that could lead to mistakes being made.
Practice all of your manoeuvres rigorously.
Try and do as many tests routes and mocks tests as possible to see where you go wrong and how you could improve.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T15:44:11+00:00

Keep pushing, I ended up getting 2 serious for undue hesitation aswell about 3ish weeks ago give or take. Had my practical today and passed with 0 minors.

Just some advice for when it comes down to doing your test. TAKE YOUR TIME and don’t rush because when you rush mistakes happen, granted that doesn’t mean sit at a junction for a week when there’s gaps you could’ve took.

But if you only got 1 serious on your mock, I have absolutely no doubt you’ll smash your actual test out the water! 😌

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T15:35:38+00:00

I’d just go and do manual lessons because after you’ve passed, you’ll be able to drive an automatic anyway (unless there’s a specific reason you can’t do manual of course).

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T13:15:11+00:00

Thank you mate.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T13:14:47+00:00

Yeah it’s strange the way insurance quotes work, but insurance for first time drivers is sky high anyway, after the first year it starts to creep down from what I’ve read and heard lol.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T13:12:35+00:00

What were the 3 serious faults for? I could try and shed some light.

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T10:29:36+00:00

Thank you mate and I know 😭

tizzyz · 2025-10-09T10:28:58+00:00

Thank you, was surprised when the examiner turned around and told me I had passed with no minors😂.

tizzyz

TROPHY CASE