HMPPS Graduate Prison Officer Scheme

Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), commissioning and providing offender management services in the community and in custody, whilst ensuring the best value for money from public resources. This encompasses three operational arms; Prisons, Probation and Youth Custody Service. Through HMPPS we are accountable for how young and adult offenders are managed in England and Wales. The management of offenders within prisons is undertaken by over 30,000 personnel responsible for the management of the prison environment and offenders. The cornerstone of the service we provide is the role of the prison officer. Prison officers’ interaction with offenders and the skills and behaviours they use in facing the challenges of the prison environment are key to delivering our offender management services, including rehabilitation. The aim of this scheme is to recruit a diverse cohort of talented graduates into Prison Officer roles, whilst giving them additional training and development in the form of a master’s level 7 qualification or equivalent, that enables them to bring about positive change at the front line. The long-term aim is that these graduates will remain operational within HMPPS and go on to become future leaders. The new national Graduate Prison Officer Scheme will recruit high potential graduates into Prison Officer roles. During the scheme, participants must complete the Prison Officer Entry Level Training within the first 2 months and then go on to complete a level 7 qualification alongside working full time as a prison officer. HMPPS is looking for a Supplier who is able to recruit, train, support and retain the graduates for the duration of the scheme and give them the skills to progress their career within the service. HMPPS is open to the supplier subcontracting any of these elements to ensure effective delivery of the scheme. HMPPS is flexible in its approach to the delivery of the scheme but in partnership with HMPPS the supplier must;

1. Create a name and brand for the scheme that is clearly aligned with HMPPS, with the agreement that HMMPS will own this brand at contract end
2. Design, gain accreditation and deliver a level 7 qualification, focusing on leadership in a custodial environment
3. Create an innovative and engaging development programme which incorporates the required elements of the mandatory Prison Officer Entry Level Training
4. Create a support system for participants
5. Build relationships with host prisons
6. Create a structured post scheme career pathway and alumni network There is a contract in place which is delivering the current graduate scheme which is due to end in Oct 2026 with a final cohort starting in Sep 2024. Our aim is to ensure we continue recruiting prison officers in a graduate development scheme from Sep 2025. We aim to recruit another 3 cohorts and maybe extend by a further 2, but are still scoping out our specification.