Check if you’re eligible
- To join us, you will need to be at least 18 years old when you start your new role.
- As a youth justice worker, it is vital that you are able to cope with both the emotional and physical demands of the job:
- You will be need to deal with stressful, traumatic and at times emotional issues.
- As this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process. This will include a hearing test and an eyesight test.
- A physical and mental health issue will not necessarily prevent you from doing the job: where appropriate, relevant adjustments will be recommended.
- It is vital that you declare any pre-existing physical and/or mental health conditions, so that we can suitably assess your ability to perform the full range of duties you will need to do as a youth justice worker. Your information will be considered by the Occupational Health team in a confidential manner.
Read about the fitness and medical test on the online application centre (opens in a new tab).
- Tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, as long as they are not deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except those that are for cultural, religious or medical reasons.
Right to work in the UK
You must have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab).
Skilled Worker visa changes from 4 April 2024
From 4 April 2024, the Government increased the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas. The change means that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot guarantee sponsorship for people seeking sponsorship via the Skilled Worker visa route.
If you are applying to be a youth justice worker and do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK.
HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.
You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.
Think about how you will get to the YOI
Some YOIs have limited public transport links. Before you apply to a particular one, find out where it is and how easy it is to get to from where you live. If you don’t drive, and rely on public transport, check that: local services run at the times you will need to travel, and that they will get you to the YOI in plenty of time for your shift. Be mindful that you might start or finish a shift around 7am.
You will need to pay any travel costs to and from work yourself.
If you choose to relocate to work at a YOI, you will need to do so at your own expense and find yourself somewhere to live before you start your job. You can apply for a tenancy loan agreement if you want help with a rental deposit, but you will not be able to access this before your start date.
The application process
The application process takes 6 to 8 months, on average, from starting your application to your first day on the job.
How long it takes depends on how quickly we can arrange an assessment date, how long your pre-employment checks take and if there’s a role available immediately at the youth offending institution you applied to.
Start by finding a suitable vacancy.
You will need your National Insurance number to apply. The application is very quick and should only take you about 10 minutes.
You will be asked some eligibility questions, such as your nationality and your right to work in the UK, then you will need to enter some personal details. You’ll then be ready to submit your application.
When applying, you can choose if you want to be considered for an operational support grade (OSG) role at the same time (in case you’re not successful in becoming a youth justice worker right now). Learn more about our ‘Aspire programme‘ (opens in a new tab).
Our reasonable adjustments scheme supports individuals who may face disadvantages in the job assessment process when applying for one of our jobs due to a diagnosed or undiagnosed disability, long-term condition, or short-term need arising from an illness or injury. If you think you might need a reasonable adjustment, simply select the ‘yes’ option in the application form when asked.
There are up to 2 online tests as part of the youth justice worker application process.
Stage 1 test
You will be invited to complete a scenario-based test (SBT), presenting you with different behavioural and numerical scenarios you might
face as a youth justice worker. This will take around 25 to 40 minutes to complete.
We use the SBT to check you have the basic numeracy skills and behaviours expected of a youth justice worker. We use the same test as part of the prison officer application process, so you will see some references to being a prison officer.
Before you take the SBT, and to give you an idea of what to expect, we encourage you to do a practice one. We won’t see the your results,
the practice test is simply an opportunity to
help you prepare.
You can take a practice test here.
If you pass the stage 1 online test, you may be invited to complete the stage 2 online test. The job advert you are applying to will confirm if this is the case.
Stage 2 test
This is a task-based assessment to see if you have the behaviours and qualities you need to become a youth justice worker.
Rather than questions, this assessment is a series of engaging tasks designed to assess your unique behaviour. There is no right or wrong way to approach the assessment – simply follow the instructions and react to the scenarios you will be presented with.
The test will take around 35 to 40 minutes to complete, but there is no time limit.
Before you take the task-based assessment, you will have an opportunity to practice.
Read this guide to get an insight into what to expect and to help you prepare for the stage 2 test (opens in a new window).
If you pass the stage 2 online test, we will invite you to the online assessment centre to complete the last stage of the youth justice worker selection process.
The online assessment centre takes about 2 hours 30 minutes and you’ll need a laptop with a webcam to take part.
Our friendly assessors will meet you and test you to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a youth justice worker.
There will be 4 parts: an interview, 2 role plays and a written test. You can read about these on the application information centre (opens in a new tab).
In one of the role plays, you’ll take on the role of a youth justice worker who’s interacting with a young person in custody. It’s designed to closely replicate the kind of interactions you may have in your role as a youth justice worker.
You’ll get your online assessment centre results within 3 working days.
If you pass, the next steps depend on if you applied to a ‘pass’ or a ‘merit’ vacancy (this will be stated in the job description). See the pre-employment checks section below for more information.
We’ll only carry out pre-employment checks once there is a youth justice worker position available for you. Checks include security, identity, past employment and health checks.
The checks can take around 8 to 10 weeks.
If you applied for a ‘Pass’ vacancy: you’ll be allocated to the next available vacancy and we’ll start your pre-employment checks straight away. If there are no vacancies, you’ll go on a merit list until a position becomes available. Your successful pass from the online assessment centre will be valid for 12 months and you can use it to apply for vacancies at other prisons.
If you applied for a ‘Merit’ vacancy: you’ll be allocated to a vacancy in order of merit, based on the online assessment centre performance of all candidates. The young offender institution will then make job offers to the people who performed best at the online assessment centre as vacancies become available. Your pre-employment checks will begin once you’re allocated to an available position. You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this, you’ll need to apply again.
If you get a provisional offer, you’ll be invited to book and attend a medical and fitness test at your nearest testing centre. You can claim back your travel expenses up to £100, for costs incurred on UK travel only.
First, you will have a medical assessment, carried out by a trained occupational health professional to check that you can safely take part in the fitness test. The assessment will involve an eye test, hearing test, and basic health screening (including blood pressure check).
Find out more about the medical assessment and fitness test on the application information centre (opens in a new tab).
If you pass your medical assessment, you’ll then be tested on endurance and strength. We test your endurance and agility using a bleep test with a shuttle run between 2 points, and we test your upper body strength to see if you can hold a 7kg riot shield and grip a piece of equipment.
Once you’ve received your provisional offer, and passed your pre-employment checks and medical and fitness test, we will email you to invite you to a call with a member of our recruitment team to discuss starting as a youth justice worker and arranging your training dates.
Find your youth justice worker job
Want to be part of a diverse team, helping children and young people towards better futures? Our youth justice workers are people just like you.
Can’t find a vacancy in a YOI near you?
Simply register your interest and we’ll let you know when new youth justice worker vacancies become available.