Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Apprenticeship Programme

Role: Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Apprenticeship Programme Location: Various locations across the South Yorkshire Police Force Area (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham & Sheffield) Salary: £28,914 - £31,749 Hours: 37 Contract Type: Permanent (Please note permanency in this role is dependent on completion of the PCSO Apprenticeship programme) Applications are invited for our PCSO Apprenticeship Programme for a planned start date of 7th September 2026. The programme is approximately 15 months in length and once all areas have been successfully completed you will be awarded with a Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice qualification.

This is a vital role here in South Yorkshire Police and one which serves as a bridge between the police force and the communities and people living within the force area.

To be eligible to apply you must be able to demonstrate the following:

• Residency - You must have resided in the UK for three continuous years immediately prior to application. If you have been abroad during the last three years while serving in the UK Armed Forces or working for the UK Government your application will still be considered.
• Citizenship - You must be either a British citizen, a citizen of the EU or other states in the EEA, or a Commonwealth citizen or foreign national with indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
• Qualifications - Candidates who currently hold a level 2 in Functional Skills / English & Maths GCSE or equivalent will be asked to provide proof of this as part of the initial application stage. Candidates who do not currently hold this level of qualification will need to have secured Level 2 qualification in Functional Skills by the end point assessment stage of the apprenticeship programme. This will be completed alongside the apprenticeship programme.
• Age - You must be 17 at the time of application and 18 at the time of appointment.
• Driving Licence - You must hold a full manual driving licence.

Key responsibilities:

• Deployment at locations throughout the South Yorkshire Police area.
• Work a shift pattern and Saturday working.
• Perform duties outdoors and in all weather, conditions.
• Maintain a highly visible community presence in the local area needs to address issues of public concern and act as a deterrent.
• Develop personal, detailed, comprehensive, professional knowledge and understanding of the local community in which they operate.
• Use appropriate communication methodologies for fostering, promoting, and maintaining channels of communication.
• Support ongoing Police operations undertaking community-based activities as directed to gather, handle, and submit information and intelligence.
• Support South Yorkshire Police in initial front-line response to incidents.
• Develop close working relationships with key community contacts.
• Develop effective relationships with individuals, including the vulnerable and at risk across the community.
• Where appropriate, assist South Yorkshire Police to manage complex incidents, acting to contain, assess needs and/or provide support to ensure immediate public safety.
• Maintain awareness of potential and actual risks to individuals, escalating potential threats to public.
• Support the identification and exploration of new ways of working and innovation in community policing.
• Support the implementation of evidence based policing initiatives.
• Apply personal safety tactics and the use of equipment where required.
• Attend court and give witness testimony in relation to any incidents where they have personal knowledge or involvement.

Skills and experience:

• Able to demonstrate alignment with the ethics and values of the police service.
• Previous experience of working with members of the public.
• Verbal communication skills with the ability to listen to others, reason and defuse situations, particularly in potential confrontational circumstances.
• Ability to work on own initiative with minimal supervision and the ability to plan and prioritise own work.
• Ability to make decisions in tight timescales in an assertive and unbiased manner.
• Team working skills demonstrating awareness of individual differences.
• IT skills and experience of using systems and/or databases.

Skills and experience as documented in the role profile need to be evidenced in your application to be considered for interview.

For more detailed information relating to the role, skills and experience for this role, please click here to view the role profile.

What we offer: We offer generous entitlements and supportive policies to enable a better work-life balance, some of which are listed below:

• A highly competitive salary and access to a generous pension scheme
• Generous annual leave allowance
• A wide range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Flexible working arrangements including flexi-time and hybrid working
• A transparent and collaborative team culture underpinned by our core values of Fairness, Integrity & Trust
• Comprehensive range of development and leadership courses to develop your career with South Yorkshire Police
• Employee Assistant Programme (accessible 24/7) offering confidential support and advice
• Flexible lifestyle benefits such as: Blue Light Card, Company Shop, Cycle to work scheme
• Committed to embedding sustainability: South Yorkshire Police Sustainability Strategy (yhrn.police)
• Membership to the Sports and Social Club
• Access to a wide range of staff support groups and networks

Appearance & Standards: South Yorkshire Police is committed to striking a proportionate balance between self-expression and the need to maintain role sensitive professional standards in dress and appearance. Officers, staff, and volunteers of South Yorkshire Police are permitted to have tattoos visible whilst on duty provided the tattoo is not considered to be unacceptable or otherwise inappropriate. Tattoos will be reviewed as part of the recruitment and selection process.

South Yorkshire Police's overarching aim is to deliver an excellent police service to support safer communities. The public's assessment of our excellence is influenced by the level of trust and confidence in us, as an organisation and as individuals. In comparison to the general public, police officers and police staff are held to a higher standards of behaviour and accountability. In applying to join the police, applicants are accepting of these higher standards and understand the implications on their right to privacy.

South Yorkshire Police's Key Values: At South Yorkshire Police we have 3 key values which run through everything we do Fairness, Integrity & Trust, the attached document details the key behaviours we expect all employees to adhere to.

Smarter ways of Working: South Yorkshire Police is committed to developing working practices which assist staff to balance their personal and professional lives, whilst meeting the needs of the organisation. This in turn enables SYP to provide an outstanding service to the community.

There are 3 different categories as part of this which are: Fixed, Field and Hybrid.

This role has been evaluated as a field role.

Field: This applies to roles that do have a base, however, due to the nature of their duties is required to travel to other locations. Due to the nature of these roles, they cannot accommodate flexible working from home on a permanent basis.

Contact details: For further information about the role, please contact the Recruitment Team by email:

Closing Date: 22nd March 2026 Closing dates are not normally extended, other than in exceptional circumstances and agreement is made between the Recruitment Manager and the Line Manager for the role.

Recruitment Timeline: Please make sure you are available for dates within all stages of the recruitment process as alternatives may not be able to be accommodated. Dates are subject to change.

• National Sift: 1st April - 8th April 2026
• Force Interview: 5th - 15th May 2026
• Start Date: 7th September 2026

Candidate Information: Please note that, should you be successful at the interview stage and before appointment, the relevant pre-employment checks are required. These include references, medical clearance, vetting clearance and sickness absence criteria check.

Health - Police community support officers may encounter difficult situations, trauma, physical confrontation and work long hours on shifts. They need to be resilient enough to cope with the demands and pressures of police work. Applicants must be in good health mentally and physically to undertake the duties of the role.

You will undergo a medical examination to ensure that you meet the health standards required.

Substance misuse & Biometric Testing - If you are currently using any illegal drugs this will automatically rule you out of the recruitment process. On application, you must agree to have a drugs test, as well as having a DNA sample and fingerprints taken for the purpose of conducting a speculative search against the national database.

Membership to a Proscribed Terrorist Organisation or Group - The police service strictly prohibits any of their officers or staff from becoming members of organisations whose aims and objectives may contradict the duty to promote race equality. If you are, or have been . click apply for full job details