Forensic Apprentice
West Midlands Police
Birmingham (B8 2RU)
Closes in 12 days (Wednesday 17 September 2025)
Posted on 4 September 2025
Contents
Summary
As a Forensic Apprentice within West Midlands Police the post holder will support the objectives of the Forensic Services Department and drive them towards excellence within the field of forensic evidence recovery. The apprentice will work within the Fingerprint Laboratory and support other Forensic Services with a variety of administration duties.
- Wage
-
£24,675 a year
- Training course
- Laboratory technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
36.5 hours per week (based on a working week of 37 hour). Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm (start/finish times can be flexible but will depend on workload)
36 hours 30 minutes a week
- Start date
-
Monday 1 December 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 9 months
- Positions available
-
5
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
- To receive, record and prioritise work in order to achieve the team’s agreed Service Level Agreements
- To operate force systems to record, update and case track all activity on submissions
- To carry out sequential treatments on exhibits received as defined by CAST guidelines
- To help administrate the Image Management System
- To maintain the West Midlands Police portion of the National Fingerprint Database within the Fingerprint Bureau
- To ensure the integrity and continuity of all evidence is maintained
- To ensure good practice relating to Health & Safety and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
- To support and work within a Quality Management System a (ISO17025 & ISO17020)
- To maintain a clean, operational working environment within the relevant Forensic Service Departments
- To attend and pass any appropriate training courses linked to your apprenticeship qualifications and apprenticeship roles
- To monitor stock control within the relevant departments of FSD
Where you'll work
Ridgepoint House
Bromford Lane
Birmingham
B8 2RU
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED
Training course
Laboratory technician (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Comply with health and safety policies and procedures including HASWA, COSHH, risk assessments, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), manual handling, emergency procedures.
- Maintain excellent housekeeping, in accordance with organisation Standard Procedures
- Order and control stocks of laboratory materials where required
- Identify, organise and use resources effectively to complete tasks applying the concepts of resource efficiency e.g energy, water and waste
- Adhere to internal and external regulatory requirements e.g. GLP, GMP, GDP
- Prepare for, and perform, laboratory experiments, tests or tasks following any specified methodologies to provide reliable, accurate data e.g. weighing, pipetting, filtering, spectroscopic techniques, chromatography techniques
- Demonstrate technical competence in the use of specified instruments and equipment
- Report faults and seek diagnostic advice to maintain equipment in good working order, including calibration where required
- Complete documentation proficiently
- Keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results
- Contribute to the preparation of reports.
- Use simple statistical techniques for data presentation and evaluation e. g calculation of median and standard deviation, production of graphs
- Demonstrate problem solving techniques including identification of sources of error and how they can be reduced e.g. human error
- Use standard software packages and applications e.g. Microsoft Office suite
- Use Laboratory Information Management systems to support their work
- Address non-routine problems with samples and instrumentation, within defined areas
- Identify relevant information from scientific sources e.g. supervisors, literature etc. in order to contribute to solutions
- Participate in continuous performance improvement of systems and processes relevant to the work environment e.g. workplace organisation techniques, accreditation (e.g. ISO, UKAS) and proficiency testing.
- Evaluate data, recognise and call attention to anomalous or unusual results
- Comply with health and safety policies and procedures including HASWA, COSHH, risk assessments, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), manual handling, emergency procedures.
- Maintain excellent housekeeping, in accordance with organisation Standard Procedures
- Order and control stocks of laboratory materials where required
- Identify, organise and use resources effectively to complete tasks applying the concepts of resource efficiency e.g energy, water and waste
- Adhere to internal and external regulatory requirements e.g. GLP, GMP, GDP
- Prepare for, and perform, laboratory experiments, tests or tasks following any specified methodologies to provide reliable, accurate data e.g. weighing, pipetting, filtering, spectroscopic techniques, chromatography techniques
- Demonstrate technical competence in the use of specified instruments and equipment
- Report faults and seek diagnostic advice to maintain equipment in good working order, including calibration where required
- Complete documentation proficiently
- Keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results
- Contribute to the preparation of reports.
- Use simple statistical techniques for data presentation and evaluation e. g calculation of median and standard deviation, production of graphs
- Demonstrate problem solving techniques including identification of sources of error and how they can be reduced e.g. human error
- Use standard software packages and applications e.g. Microsoft Office suite
- Use Laboratory Information Management systems to support their work
- Address non-routine problems with samples and instrumentation, within defined areas
- Identify relevant information from scientific sources e.g. supervisors, literature etc. in order to contribute to solutions
- Participate in continuous performance improvement of systems and processes relevant to the work environment e.g. workplace organisation techniques, accreditation (e.g. ISO, UKAS) and proficiency testing.
- Evaluate data, recognise and call attention to anomalous or unusual results
Training schedule
- Laboratory Technician Level 3
- At the workplace
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- English (grade 4 or above)
- Maths (grade 4 or above)
A Level in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Physical fitness
Other requirements
The apprentice will need to: Demonstrate excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills. Demonstrate excellent presentation skills. Demonstrate a practical approach to problem solving and a willingness to accept responsibility. Have good team working skills and be able to work as part of a diverse team. Have good time management skills and be keen to deliver work in a timely and accurate manner. Practical understanding of Forensic Science.
About this employer
West Midlands Police is the second largest police force in the country, covering an area of 348 square miles and serving a population of almost 2.8 million. The region sits at the very heart of the country and covers the three major centres of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. It also includes the busy and thriving districts of Sandwell, Walsall, Solihull and Dudley. Leisure, retail and conference amenities, together with Premiership and Championship football teams, attract millions of visitors annually. The West Midlands is an area rich in diversity, with 18 per cent of its population from ethnic minority backgrounds. An average of 170,000 motorists travel through the region daily, making its motorways some of the busiest in Europe. Against this backdrop, the force deals with more than 2,000 emergency calls for help every day, as well as patrolling the streets and responding to incidents 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week.
http://west-midlands.police.uk (opens in new tab)
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
Permanent posts are not guaranteed following successful completion of your apprenticeship.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
West Midlands Police
Michael Killeen
mick.killeen@westmidlands.police.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000340402.
Apply now
Closes in 12 days (Wednesday 17 September 2025)
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