Kickstart recruits land permanent role

Two recruits who joined the force as part of the government’s Kickstart scheme have successfully landed permanent roles within their field.

Firearms and explosives licensing assistant clerks, Heidi Maddock and Alisha Bungar, obtained full-time roles after excelling in their six-month placements.

They were part of the intake of February’s Kickstarter scheme – an initiative designed to boost the employment skills of young people within Staffordshire’s communities.

“It’s incredible to feel like you are contributing to society and making a difference,” said Heidi.

“Every single officer and member of staff has the opportunity to make a positive impact on people’s lives, which is the most fulfilling aspect of working in the police.”

Heidi’s full-time role will involve many of the responsibilities and tasks she previously had as temporary staff. She will continue to assist senior officers in the booking of various firearms deployments, as well as managing complex IT software, overseeing the licensing team and liaising with other departments to achieve positive results as a force.

She said: “The scheme has been invaluable for me. Working within the department has given me an insight into how the force functions, each department’s responsibilities when responding to grade one incidents, how to use the relevant software and, more importantly, the importance of my own role.

“I’ve learned so much from talking to different people within the licensing team. They have been so accommodating and made it easy for me to develop within this role and finally be able to stay on full-time.

“It’s important that I continue to develop though, despite now being permanent. The force will be providing further training and tutorials on how to operate different programmes in order to equip me for the extra accountability I’ll now have.”