Advice for Joining (From the South)

RedmondHR

Sup!

I am dead set on joining the police, between the AGS & PSNI but leaning towards the PSNI lately, looking for some inside advice first though.
Any ideas on the next campaign?
Is there that much of a transition for people from the South?
How long did the recruitment process take? ( I am from the South if that changes anything)
Out of curiosity how what did you all do during this wait?
Is dyslexia much of a hindrance when joining? ( In last year of college so its not too bad :P)
How do you all find the job?
How did people from the South find moving up there and ect.?

Thanks for any help in this matter!! Feel free to ask anything or give any other advice!

majgreen

i cant answer for people joining from the south but the recruitment process for me has been just over 1.5 years. Its been incredibly challenging, and i start police training soon. With budget cuts etc, i cant see any further recruitment for a few years. During the process i was already employed, so continued at that job and hoped for the best!

Shield

RedmondHR wrote: »

Sup!

I am dead set on joining the police, between the AGS & PSNI but leaning towards the PSNI lately, looking for some inside advice first though.
Any ideas on the next campaign?
Is there that much of a transition for people from the South?
How long did the recruitment process take? ( I am from the South if that changes anything)
Out of curiosity how what did you all do during this wait?
Is dyslexia much of a hindrance when joining? ( In last year of college so its not too bad :P)
How do you all find the job?
How did people from the South find moving up there and ect.?

Thanks for any help in this matter!! Feel free to ask anything or give any other advice!

Hello.

I'm from Dublin, and I'm in the PSNI for a good while now.

Which to join, the PSNI or AGS? I think there'll be some Gardaí who will agree with me, that it's not a question - the PSNI is the better funded, better trained, better operated, and has a better Policing Plan. The AGS Policing Plan isn't even as good as ours from 10 years ago!

I don't know when the next Recruitment Campaign is. Operational Officers aren't told anything like because it's nothing to do with our job.

The transition can be tricky, but you are given time to get yourself sorted out with a National Insurance Number, a bank account on the Northern Ireland side of the border, a car (strongly recommended - if you have one, it's recommended to get NI plates because ROI plates can stand out), and a place to live when you have been stationed. For the duration of your training in Garnerville, Student Officers from the Republic of Ireland are permitted to stay in the Accommodation Block for the length of their training because they could be stationed 100+ miles away.

During the wait, just work at your regular job. Thinking about the process will drive you crazy if you let it. Just ask the forum regulars. For those of us born in the Republic of Ireland, your Vetting is handled by the Garda Vetting Unit, and this can take up to a full year to be completed.

Dyslexia is not an issue as long as you can prove you have it, usually confirmed by your family GP. There are support mechanisms in place for those with such difficulties, but I cannot explain them in a public forum. If you get in, you'll be provided with adequate information upon request on how you can benefit from this assistance.

For me, the job is fine. It's policing a divided society. You're not going to benefit from me telling you what the job entails. Most people who apply from ROI are usually mainly concerned about their accent. I think I've only ever heard my Dublin accent being brought up around 4 times since I joined. If you're unlucky, it'll be brought up once or twice a year at most.

I found the recruitment process back then to be very frustrating because there was nothing even remotely like this forum where I could just log in, ask questions, and have them answered overnight. It's the very reason I created these forums in the first place. So that people like you have somewhere to ask as many questions as you like, and get answers from people who actually do the job that has caught your eye.

The best advice I can offer to you is just apply for it when it comes up, and if you like, you can drop your application at any time. If you don't apply, you'll be wondering whether you'd have passed the selection process. While your application is being progressed, you'll have heaps of time to ask people on here about the job, and if you don't like what you're hearing, you can walk away at any time with no penalty or prejudice if you decide you want to apply again at a later date.

Welcome to the forum.

-Shield.

RedmondHR

Cheers, Thats brilliant! The websites and testimonials are good, but its great when you can get it from someone else...even if they are as mysterious as yourself! Would you mind telling me what age you were when you got in to the PSNI, if you cant sure its grand!

loggingfolk

There are a few students in GV at the minute with Dyslexia and it doesn't cause them much trouble if any at all. As Shield says there are measures in place to facilitate this. Everyone does a basic test upon entry and even those who have some form of dyslexia which they maybe aren't aware of are identified.

dunner515

Hi Op,

Do you know what educational requirements are for people from the south?

RedmondHR

Do you know what educational requirements are for people from the south?[/QUOTE]

Hi,

Yep, its on the jointhepsni 'To meet the eligibility criteria, you need to have obtained a Leaving Certificate in 5 subjects at grade C (ordinary) or grade D (honours), including Maths and English Language'
Got it from joinpsni-application-process_faqs
Sorry cant post links

Thinking of heading up ?!

Shield

RedmondHR wrote: »

Cheers, Thats brilliant! The websites and testimonials are good, but its great when you can get it from someone else...even if they are as mysterious as yourself! Would you mind telling me what age you were when you got in to the PSNI, if you cant sure its grand!

Hi again.

I can't give out any personal information I'm afraid. However, Garnerville has seen Student Officers aged 18 and 19, right across the age spectrum, to those joining when they had retired from other work, and walked through the gates in their late 50s and as "experienced" as 60 or 61.

dunner515

RedmondHR wrote: »

Thinking of heading up ?!

I would like to but I did maths at foundation level and don't know if they will accept that, I can't seem to get a clear answer from anyone I have contacted if they will. I'd be truly grateful to hear from someone that was from the south in a similar situation

Shield

dunner515 wrote: »

I would like to but I did maths at foundation level and don't know if they will accept that, I can't seem to get a clear answer from anyone I have contacted if they will.

Nope. Foundation Level Maths does not meet the requirement.

Straight from www.joinpsni.co.uk:

"In or after 1975, leaving certificate in mathematics at grade C or above (ordinary) or at grade D or above (honours), is equivalent"

Sorry to bear the bad news.

-Shield.

Icarus9

Don't be put off if it's what you want, Get down to your local college or tech and do the equivalent to gcse maths as an evening course. It will only be about one night a week and when it has your full focus you will find it isn't too bad, even if you aren't good at maths. Good luck

Shield

Icarus9 wrote: »

Don't be put off if it's what you want, Get down to your local college or tech and do the equivalent to gcse maths as an evening course. It will only be about one night a week and when it has your full focus you will find it isn't too bad, even if you aren't good at maths. Good luck

I wholehearted agree. Maths isn't that difficult when it's isolated and that's all you have to study. The problems arise when you have to switch from languages to sciences to maths to arts. Very few adults I know would get the grades they got back when they sat the Leaving Cert if they were to sit the same exams today.

As Icarus9 said above, you can study the GCSE Maths syllabus independent of other subjects, and you can even do it online and sit the test when you're ready. It's bizarre enough that they don't accept Junior Cert Maths as the equivalent to GCSE Maths, which they should, because they're on the same level. You can't let that stop you though. Depending on how bad you want it, you'll either get the grades you need in the subjects you need, or you won't. If you see it as part of the application process, you'll be able to focus more, get it in the bag, and you'll be delighted to be able to tick the "Yes" box beside the 'GCSE Maths:' question.

Do it.

dunner515

Thanks for the positive response guys. I think now I will look into sitting the exam again, I just hope if I do the exam and pass that the PSNI will accept this as I did not do all my exams together in the one sitting

Shield

dunner515 wrote: »

I just hope if I do the exam and pass that the PSNI will accept this as I did not do all my exams together in the one sitting

Yes, they will accept the qualifications from different years, and if they're years apart from each other.

The main thing is that you meet the educational requirements: Leaving Cert OR GCSE Maths at grade C or above, and Leaving Cert OR GCSE English at grade C or above. They won't annul Maths from English just because you passed the exams in different years.

Also, don't forget that you need a minimum of 5 subjects, and you must have scored a grade C or higher in all 5 to be eligible. You may have done an apprenticeship in something, and that can count in place of a subject (or subjects, depending on the apprenticeship). If you did any kind of course(s) when you left school, they can also count in place of subjects that you don't have.

If you do have something you think might be a suitable substitute, feel free to ask here, or you can drop me a PM if you'd prefer to keep things private.

-Shield.