Graduation Day! Northants first ever policing apprenticeship graduates
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Twelve police officers have officially graduated having successfully completed the first ever Northamptonshire Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) at the University of Northampton.
The apprenticeships were officially sworn in at police headquarters back in November 2019. Over the course of three years, they have blended practical on-the-job learning and deployment to incidents across Northamptonshire, with their academic theory and knowledge building on campus.
The students have also used the specialist ‘Hydra’ Immersive Learning System, which uses technology to immerse students in critical incidents to develop their skills in decision making.
The police constable degree apprenticeship programme is designed to develop the students’ theoretical knowledge of criminology, evidence-based policing, supporting vulnerable people, dealing with cyber-crime and crime prevention, as well as legislation, procedures, and police law.
Chief Constable Nick Adderley, said: “This is a significant achievement for the student officers and I want to congratulate them on their success. Not only did they join a brand-new course, embark on a new career, balance practical real life policing together with academic studies, but they also accomplished this during a global pandemic. I now look forward to seeing how they develop and grow into the wider policing family.”
Karen Jones, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Northampton said: “I’m incredibly proud to celebrate the success of this first cohort of the PCDA students as they graduate. This is a significant achievement for them all, their journey has not been easy, while many of us were locked down, these students maintained their operational duties and academic studies throughout the pandemic. It is a huge testament to their tenacity, adaptability, resilience, and commitment, all vital qualities for a career in policing.”
The PCDA is one of three routes people can take to becoming a police officer. To find out more, go online at www.northants.police.uk/policeofficer
Chief Constable Nick Adderley congratulating our Police Officers as they graduate through PCDA route
Our first cohort of PCDA students with Training Delivery Manager Damian Hiscocks, Chief Constable Nick Adderley and University of Northampton Staff.