How to apply

The first stage of the recruitment process involves completing an application form.

You’ll need to enter important personal details, including your right to work in the UK. We use these to check you’re eligible to be a probation officer.

We’ll also ask you about your education and career, and assess you against a range of skills and behaviours using the Civil Service Success Profiles framework (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab).

You’ll be asked to complete 3 behaviour-based questions and one experience question. You might find it helpful as part of your preparation to think about the structure of your responses for the behaviours assessed. A common approach you might consider using is the ‘STAR method’:

• Situation – describe the situation you had to deal with
• Task – explain the task you needed to complete
• Action – outline the actions you took to complete the task
• Result – confirm what happened as a result of your action and what you learnt from the experience

To learn more about the STAR method visit the National Careers Service (opens in a new tab).

There’s a 250 word limit for each question, so you may find it helpful to draft your responses in a Word document before putting your final answers into your application form.

Our Reasonable Adjustments Scheme supports individuals who may face disadvantages in the job assessment process due to a diagnosed or undiagnosed disability, long-term condition, or even a short-term need arising from an illness or injury. As part of the application form you can let us know if you would like reasonable adjustments support in the assessment process. Find out about reasonable adjustments.

Please ensure that all information in your application form is truthful and accurately represents your own skills and experience. Applications will be checked for AI-generated content during the initial screening. If you are found to have used AI to enhance your skills, experience or qualifications then your application could be withdrawn from the recruitment process.

Once you’ve successfully submitted your application, you may be invited to complete a values-based assessment.

We use this assessment to allow you to demonstrate the values needed to be an effective trainee probation officer. Your results will determine whether you progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.

On average, if completed in one sitting, the assessment takes around 30 minutes to complete, but everyone is different and there is no time limit so please complete it at your own pace.

The assessment contains a variety of questions styles using different formats. Before you complete the assessment, we recommend you familiarise yourself with the format of the question styles by completing the practice questions.

Do not worry if you have not completed this type of assessment before, the instructions will provide all the information you need to complete the assessment.

If your application is successful, we’ll invite you to attend an online assessment centre.

This half-day assessment centre has been designed to reflect the reality of the trainee probation officer role. It will assess you to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths we’re looking for.

The assessment will involve:

• a written test
• a role play
• an interview

Written test

The written test measures how well you can understand presented information and produce a response in writing. This helps us to assess your written communication skills which you will use in the role when writing reports.

Role play

During the role play, you will take on the role of a trainee probation officer who is interacting with an offender. The role play is based upon a challenging scenario that you could be faced with in the role.

Interview

The blended interview covers a mixture of behaviour-based and strengths-based questions. Behaviour-based questions will explore your past experiences and achievements. Strength-based questions will focus on what motivates and energises you.

We’re aware that there are websites offering to help candidates with PQiP assessments – these are not official websites, and they are not endorsed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Plagiarised applications will not be accepted. For all of the assessments you do not need to have any prior experience of working as a trainee probation officer. We’ll give you more information about what to expect when we invite you to attend the online assessment centre.

If you’re successful at the online assessment centre, you’ll then need to pass our pre-employment checks.

This will include:

• HMPPS enhanced level-2 vetting
• Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) level 2 (once you are in post)
• declaration of any spent or unspent convictions, cautions and absolute or conditional discharges – however long ago they occurred

You can find more information about what to declare (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab).

Proof that you have been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years is required to complete the NPPV2 vetting process. If you have been out of the country for a significant period (usually up to one year) and maintained your UK residency you may still be considered for vetting clearance.

If you do not successfully pass vetting, you will not be able to access the multi-agency databases needed to do the role or complete the qualification. We’ll work to understand the reasons for failure and if or where you could be deployed.

Once you have successfully completed the online assessment centre, we’ll write to you with a provisional offer of employment. This is subject to successfully completing your pre-employment checks and pending the availability of a suitable vacancy within a reasonable commute distance.

PQiP learners in the Probation Service are employed on permanent probation services officer contracts. You’ll be expected to undertake routine tasks during the training programme. Learners will also be allocated some study time towards the required learning components. However, further study will need to be undertaken in your own time and the amount varies depending on individual learning styles.

Location offer

Once the allocation process begins, we will send you a specific office location offer letter. If you choose to accept the offer and your pre-employment checks are complete, we’ll send you a contract and you can begin your training. The next intake will commence on 2 March 2026, the initial 4-week induction is hugely important as it covers the foundations for your course. You need to make sure you’re available for every day during this period.

Please note that a PQiP placement is not guaranteed during any intake as vacancies are determined by business need. Allocation of successful candidates into PQiP vacancies is by fair and open competition based on merit from assessment scores.

How do I access my application if I’ve saved it to draft?

To re-access your application please visit the Justice Jobs website (jobs.justice.gov.uk, opens in new tab) and follow the below steps:

• Log in- right hand corner of the page
• Click job applications
• Click on the job you have applied for
• Click the resume button- and then complete the application to the end.
• Press the submit button.

Note: If you have applied internally please visit the intranet for instructions to access the internal vacancy site.

Who do I contact with a query or technical issue?

You can call on: 0845 2415 358 or 0345 2415 358

Or email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

What is considered – or how can I get – relevant experience to apply for the PQiP programme?

Relevant experience refers to time spent working with individuals who have offended, exhibit challenging behaviours, or are experiencing significant personal crises. This experience may be gained within or outside the Community Justice sector and can be in either a paid or voluntary role.

Will I automatically get a job if I pass the recruitment process?

Placements in particular office locations are not guaranteed and subject to business need. The Probation Service operates on a cluster model which means you may be allocated to any of the probation delivery units (PDU) in your region.

If it is not possible to place you into a suitable vacancy location due to insufficient vacancies, you will remain on the reserve list and your application will be carried forward to the following intake. Candidates are able to remain on the reserve list for 12 months.

What happens if my application is unsuccessful?

If you are unsuccessful, you may re-apply to the next PQiP campaign. You may also wish to consider other roles within HMPPS to gain further experience, such as probation services officer, prison officer, operational support grade, community payback supervisor or approved premises residential worker.

Due to the volume of candidates, and in line with wider policy, we are unable to offer individual feedback at the sift stage of the selection process.

What happens if I fail PQiP?

To qualify as a probation officer, you must pass both the vocational and the applied academic elements of the PQiP programme.

If you don’t pass, depending on the circumstances you’ll either remain in post as a Probation Services Officer or may be asked to leave. The decision will be made by your employer.