Emergency services and armed forces

Emergency services include the ambulance, fire service Border Force and police.

The police service is open to graduates, and non-graduates, and recruitment is usually managed by police services at a local level, this includes frontline, administrative or other roles. However, The College for Policing announced that by 2020 it is expected that all police officer entry routes will require a degree, so with this in mind new routes and qualifications are likely to be announced. More on this

Pre-entry experience, eg as a special constable, is recommended.

Border Force officers work on the UK border protecting against threats of terrorism, smuggling, fraud, human trafficking and illegal trade.

Paramedics work as part of the ambulance service and are senior healthcare professionals. Entry is usually via a specialist undergraduate paramedic degree. Other options in the ambulance service are available as are first aid roles in voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross or St John Ambulance.

Entry to the fire service as a firefighter is non graduate, although there are some vocational fire safety degree courses available. Written and physical tests ability tests are required as proof of suitability.

Armed forces

The armed forces include The Army, Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. There are a variety of roles available for graduates and non graduates. The army alone has roles that include combat, engineering, medical, logistics, HR, finance, IT, intelligence, and music.