16-year-old Louis Johnson has taken the first steps to his future career as a police officer by enrolling for the Level 3 extended diploma in protective services (police pathway).
Louis said: “I’ve always wanted to work in the emergency services and, at a careers event at school I looked at the information about the course and liked that it was aimed at public services, rather than criminology, so I went along to an open day to find out more.
“I met the tutors, looked around the campus and classrooms and a few weeks later I came to a Discovery Day to get a taste of the sort of things I’d be doing on the course and I was surprised at how practical it was. We did lots of activities such as drills and investigation games and that’s when I realised that I wouldn’t just be learning in a classroom but getting involved in lots of activities too.
“The tutors all have experience of working in uniformed public services so they know the challenges we’ll have to face and tell us how it is. They teach in a way that I understand and expect us to do additional research to expand our knowledge – it’s a good way of learning for me. And, whilst the course focuses on the police, we’re also learning how the service links with other uniformed public services which will be useful in the future.
“I like being on a course with people of different ages and that everyone is interested in what they are studying and want to learn, so there aren’t as many distractions. I’ve become more confident and made friends and I like the uniform as it looks professional and I feel proud when I wear it!”
