MPS Graduate Recruitment Strategy

ps/01/05
22 November 2005
MPA briefing paper

Author: Alan Johnson, Head of Human Resources, MPA

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Background

Although there are 4,502 police officers (14% of total) in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) who are graduates and 1,301 police staff (9.5% of total), this strategy is the MPS’s first attempt at drafting its own graduate strategy. The intention would be to run a graduate recruitment scheme focusing on establishments with high numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) students, and particularly those students in their second year of study.

This would run alongside the national Home Office High Potential Development Scheme (HPDS), which aims to attract graduates to the police service but which has not been successful in attracting large numbers of applicants, particularly from BME groups. The HPDS was designed to support and develop the future leaders of the police service, to improve their leadership and command skills, and assist them to progress to senior positions.

From research, graduates are 25% more likely to pass the police National Recruitment Standards (NRS) selection process than non-graduates, and black and minority ethnic (BME) students now constitute a significant proportion of the graduate population. With an ever growing emphasis on a diverse, multi-racial and highly performing police service, this is a good time for the MPS to ‘raise its game’ in graduate recruitment. The same research found two thirds of graduates surveyed claimed they would be more likely to apply to the MPS if it had a formal graduate scheme.

For the MPS, the opportunity to employ individuals who have specific technical skills and knowledge, and the ability to be developed into specific roles relatively quickly, is very attractive. Research also found second year students are the most receptive group to target with potential careers information.

The most appealing aspects of the MPS to graduates were perceived to be the range of career opportunities available, and the opportunity to “put something back into the community”. The most off-putting aspects were seen to be the perceived low salary, the potential danger of the job and the perception that racism and bureaucracy existed within the MPS. The MPS current starting salary of £26,730 on commencing, rising to £30,423 after two years’ probationary training, is competitive but is, as expected, topped by investment banks, law firms and management consultancies.

Equally, providing work placements for sandwich students has traditionally played an important role in the long-term recruitment of graduates in other organisations, as has providing sponsorship, further training, bursary schemes and assistance with student loans. However, the most effective way of attracting high calibre graduates continues to be the provision of a quality graduate scheme.

Key aspects of the MPS approach

The MPS plan to use graduate job directories, careers fairs, internet sites, press advertising and campus presentations still represents a valuable method of bringing an employer to the attention of graduates. However, priority will be given to direct contact with specific universities (64%), using careers services (56%), the internet and placing vacancies and appointments in student vacancy bulletins, which have been seen as increasingly successful graduate recruitment methods in recent years.

The cost to the MPS need not be prohibitive, as the infrastructure for this scheme is largely in place. However, there are implications in terms of staffing levels, abstractions from operational teams and training staff. If the scheme is to run it will require further investment.

In selecting appropriate educational institutions, consideration has been given to forming closer links with universities that have a higher than average percentage of BME students, i.e:

• London Metropolitan University
• University of East London
• City University
• University of Westminster
• Kingston University
• Middlesex University

The MPS are proposing that this new graduate scheme would be used to raise the profile of the Service within the universities. Students at the universities would have their awareness of the scheme raised during their first two years, and be invited to apply for the police service during their third year. Their NRS scores would be examined and those scoring well would be invited to apply for the scheme. It is envisaged that candidates selected to be on the scheme would be offered places at training school in advance of others, dependent on their skills and experiences.

The advantages of a graduate recruitment scheme are:

• By concentrating on universities with high numbers of BME students the scheme will support the organisation’s aims of reflecting the community it serves
• The scheme would be very flexible and may be adapted to suit both the organisation and the individual
• As the scheme is targeted solely at graduates, it is envisaged to have more universal appeal to this target group
• The numbers on the scheme could be adjusted each year to address projected demand in the years ahead.
• Raising awareness of the MPS would also indirectly attract good quality candidates into other police family roles, thereby enhancing the organisation’s reputation as being an employer of choice.

Subject to further revisions in the light of comments received, the MPS view communication with graduates throughout their second year and the ability of the organisation to offer secure employment by the third year of study is vital, as this allows students the time to concentrate on their final studies.

At the same time, the MPS will make use of their existing ‘brand’ awareness to raise their profile as an employer. The MPS has already taken some initial steps to develop graduate marketing material, including a specific graduate advertising campaign “What use is your degree?” and identifying individual members of the HR Board to maintain regular contact with the one or more of the named universities.

This will be supported by effective media campaigns promoting the existence of graduate opportunities in both mainstream and minority graduate publications, with specific campaigns focusing upon community involvement and the realities of being a police officer.

The MPS consider the business case for having a graduate scheme is a compelling one as it would not only benefit from enhanced skills and experiences from a broad section of the community, but would also encourage competitive advantage through the generation of new ideas. Short-term opportunities such as work placements could also be introduced to provide some understanding of the organisation. These placements would also give the MPS the opportunity to evaluate students. Fundamentally, it would enable the MPS to directly target a largely untapped pool of skilled resources, many of which come from BME communities.

A good experience by the individual, whether or not they ultimately become a MPS employee, can only enhance the reputation of the organization and, may, in the longer term, assist in together making London a safer city.

Key issues for the Authority

There are a number of issues for the Authority:

• When this has been discussed at the Human Resources Committee there has been general agreement that recruiting more graduates is a ‘good thing,’ but there needs to be a recognition that there are already significant numbers of graduates within the organisation who may wish to access this scheme
• Regardless of how attractive a career in the police service will be for graduates, there are already some big players well established in this field, primarily in the private sector and Civil Service. The incentives they are able to offer are likely to provide more flexibility than those available within the police service
• The Strategy is silent upon the likely numbers or costs. Whilst this is, to some extent, understandable there needs to be some realistic costings provided for members at the earliest opportunity and some thought given to the priority graduates will be given, i.e. if the overall numbers of recruits fall will the proportion of graduates also fall or will the Service still wish to maintain a healthy number of graduate applications.
• The suggestion within the main document that the NRS selection process has had a direct impact upon the ability of the MPS to reach the Home Office BME target of 25% is disingenuous. The MPS were already way off the target long before the NRS was introduced in September 2003.

Additional information

A separate paper of the MPS Recruitment Strategy was circulated on 18 November 2005.

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