About
The Metropolitan Police Force is the largest police service in the UK.
Our officers and staff are at the heart of policing in the Met. Every day we rely on thousands of officers and staff who are committed to working together and with our communities and partners to successfully deliver the policing that Londoners need and deserve; people who share our values, are committed to high standards, and want to help create change for a better London.
If you’re looking for a challenging and rewarding role, our Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship allows you to earn as you learn and gives you a qualification in Professional Policing. You’ll get loads of experience, build your skills, and be an officer from your first day.
Main description
Our Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) is a three-year programme that combines classroom learning with frontline experience on London’s streets. Real-world policing experience will be central to this programme.
You’ll build on everything you learn, working in a number of different policing roles, from responding to emergency calls from the public to policing London’s neighbourhoods and working directly with communities. Each role will help you advance your skill set, enhance your knowledge and help you gain valuable experience.
You’ll also be required to complete operational and academic assessments from time to time, including exams, essays and presentations.
For more information visit: Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship – Metropolitan Police Careers
Training to be provided
Your initial training will consist of 17 weeks at Hendon, including a 4 day introduction to the Met.
The initial learning at Hendon will include:
- policing, the law and police powers
- protection, vulnerability and public protection
- policing communities, response policing and investigating crime
- police leadership, coaching and mentoring
- officer safety training
- emergency life support
- safeguarding
- crime investigation and operational policing skills
The first four days you will work 08:00 – 16:00 shifts. From then on the shift pattern at Hendon during your training is alternating weeks of earlies and late shifts. It is Mon – Fri, 07:00 – 15:00 (early), and 14:00 – 22:00 (late).
The next ten weeks you will spend working in a police team, based on a London borough. This will be alongside dedicated experienced police officer’s acting as ‘tutor constables’. This is called street duties, and is where you can put into practice what you have been taught.
The remainder of your three years will be spent building on what you have learnt so far. You’ll enhance your skills, experience and knowledge through a number of different policing roles, including working on teams that respond to emergency calls from the public, and as officers policing London’s neighbourhoods working with communities.
You’ll complete further learning in year two, twice for up to three weeks of learning. In your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake research into an area of policing you’re particularly interested in. You’ll then present your research by way of an academic poster and short briefing.
Throughout your training you will need to complete operational and academic assessments. Academic assessments include exams, essays and presentations.
Upon successfully completing your three year programme you’ll be a fully qualified police constable and will graduate from your degree.
Graduating as a Police officer
The three-year training will also count as your probation. On successful completion, you’ll graduate from both the degree and the probation.
Entry requirements
It can take up to six months for the entire process to be completed, but the career that you will be building is worth the wait.
London is one of the most diverse cities in the world. That’s why in the Met, we welcome applications from people from all backgrounds who are committed to making a difference for the communities we serve. We are looking for people who share our values of integrity, courage, accountability, respect and empathy.
In addition to this, we also have our standard eligibility criteria, including
Academic Qualifications
You must have, or be working towards, 1-2 A-Levels or a Level 3 qualification.
English at GCSE at Grades 4 to 9 (Grade C or above)
Training or work experience equivalent to a Level 3 qualification is also acceptable.
Health and Fitness
You will need to pass a fitness test. You will be required to run up and down a 15-metre track, beating a ‘bleep’. At the end of each level, the time between bleeps gets shorter, meaning you have to run faster. The whole test takes three minutes and 35 seconds and covers a total of 525 metres.
Medical Conditions
Some medical conditions can prevent you from being able to cope with the physical and mental demands of the job. HM government medical standards information gives full details on illnesses, injuries and disorders that will affect your ability to work as a police officer. For more information visit: National recruitment standards – medical standards for police recruitment – GOV.UK
Eyesight
You must meet the police eyesight standards. These are the same no matter which force you join. Your eyesight is tested as part of your medical, which takes place during the application process. For more information visit: Determinations of The Secretary of State under the police regulations 2003 – GOV.UK
Vetting
Everyone joining the Met must be vetted. Vetting checks are an important way to maintain our high standards and reassure Londoners that appropriate checks are done on people who hold a position of trust.
Skills required
Accuracy, Adaptability, Analytical and Inquisitive
Problems solving, Resilient, Respectful, Team Player
Benefits
Our Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) means you can learn as you earn, gaining a free (BSc) Hons degree in professional policing practice. The Met covers all qualification fees, so that you can get a degree that is relevant to policing.
Completing the training programme opens up a number of career paths and opportunities for you. The Met is the largest police service in the UK, and naturally, offers a wide variety of specialist units and opportunities to progress your career.
As a police constable, the work you do matters. To thank you for your service, you can receive benefits, including:
- Access to our dedicated discount site, offering money off a host of high street shops, grocery shops, days out, and gyms
- Eligibility for the Blue Light Card, which will give you discounts on a variety of things, from restaurants to experiences
Policing is a physically demanding job, so it’s important to take care of your health. That’s why you’ll get:
- Access to free physiotherapy
- Free eyesight tests
- On-site gym facilities in our buildings across London
- Four sport club houses, offering free or low-cost access to sporting facilities to our officers and their families
- Whether you are on or off duty, you will receive free travel inside London and heavily discounted travel from up to 70 miles outside London.
How to apply
First, you’ll need to submit an online registration form and an application form to make sure you pass our basic eligibility criteria. A basic security check will be conducted, which takes around seven days.
2You will be asked to complete an online test, known as the “National Sift”. The test is made up of two exercises:
the Situational Judgement Test (SJT)
a Behavioural Styles Questionnaire (BSQ)
The exercises will assess if you have the key behaviours and values to join us as a police constable. No prior policing knowledge is required to complete the national sift exercises.
National sift candidate guidance is available on the College of Policing website
You can expect this stage of the process to take about two weeks.
The online assessment is made up of three exercises:
- Competency-based interview: use examples from your work and personal life to answer a series of questions.
- Written assessment: complete an urgent written task whilst assuming the role of a police constable.
- Briefing exercise: read the material and answer questions based on what you have read as if you were a police constable.
You should complete this stage within about three weeks of Step 1. You can expect your results within three weeks of completing the assessment.
We’ll invite you to our Met recruitment centre in South London for an interview focused on our values. If you pass the interview, you’ll then be invited to complete a medical and job related fitness test (JRFT).
You can expect your results within four to eight weeks, depending on personal circumstances.
A training programme to support your test can be found here.
These checks are there to make sure we are recruiting police officers who meet our standards of behaviour and share our values. The length of time this takes can vary. On average, it takes about two months.
You can find out more on the vetting process here.
If you’re successful, we’ll make you a formal offer of employment and discuss the best date for you to join.
Disability Confident Statement
The Met is committed to being an equitable (fair and impartial) and inclusive employer for disabled people, striving to have a diverse and representative workforce at all levels. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and long-term conditions, ethnic minority groups and women.
As a Disability Confident Leader, the Met has committed to making disability equality part of our everyday practice. We ensure that people with disabilities and those with long term conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
The Met is committed to making reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure disabled applicants can perform at their best. If you need any reasonable adjustments or changes to the application and recruitment process, we ask that you include this information within your application form. All matters will be treated in strict confidence.
Please note, if you are applying for a police officer role or to become a police community support officer (PCSO) or designated detention officer (DDO), there is a minimum requirement that you must pass a job-related fitness test (JRFT) at point of entry. This does not apply to police staff roles. Find out more about police fitness standards.
Closing Date
The closing date for this job offer is on 31/10/2026
Salary
£42,210 a year
Location
This job is located in London, London
More Information and How to Apply
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