Whole time recruitment

[geoff]

He's one for you all, I'm a bit of an oldey. 45 and am half way through the selection process for retained, but the process is exactly the same as the whole time(which I think is a good thing) I've already attained 50 on the step test and am pleased to say I am not the dumbest person in the world. My question is, is it beyond possibility that I could get in whole time when/if I pass selection this time.Does anyone know of people older than me who have got in, I know it's against the law to judge on age but I would rather be in the real world with my goals. thanks Geoff

[james]

To be honest with the current national recruiment situation your age would be on your side as far as wholetime. They dont seem to be favouring white british males from 18-30. Iv been retained for over 2 years and after applying for several brigades myself for wholetime and being rejected 'as unsuitable to be a firefighter' i am feeling fairly disheartened over the whole process.

As for just transfering from your current application... im not sure thats possible. it will depend on your brigade. Some brigades are offering transfer from retained but not all YET, and even then it would only be once you are a competant fire fighter (after final probation tests).

oldest person i have heard of getting in wholetime was 45 i think.

[geoff]

Thanks for that. I wouldn't get disheartened if I was you. I believe that it is a smooth transition from retained to whole time if you do the selection process I am in the area I'm in, I was just really testing other peoples views with regards the age thing. thanks Geoff

[ladder]

I believe that 45 is not a problem nowadays. The entry interviews etc are all PQA based and you will have had more lifetime experience to draw from and as long as you maintain a reasonable level of fitness you will be fine. I too am aware of 3 or 4 firefighters who have gone through and passed a basic recruit course. Better to have a crack now rather than waiting til your 55 and wishing you had tried 10 years ago. Good luck buddy !!!!!!!!1

[geoff]

thanks for that I will

[Fireguy1230]

They dont seem to be favouring white british males from 18-30.

I understand that you are feeling disheartened over not being successful but you cannot say that the FRS favours some people over others. If you look through the ranks of every fire service in Britain, plus training schools, you will probably find that the majority of firefighters are white males.

 You've just gotta keep trying mate, i know guys who were succesful on their 5th or 6th application.

[toby14483]

The recruitment process may be the same, but the training may not be. You need to remember that recruiting for wholetime means the selectors can choose the best from the whole country and thousands of applicants, and for retained its within 1 mile of a station, and thanks to this it is possible that to stay on the run they would accept minor flaws, and in wholetime they wouldnt have to.

Not saying you have any flaws or problems or issues, but there may be people out there when you are looking for wholetime employment in the fire service, that are simply more suited than yourself.

Good luck to you if you do go for it, it is more than possible, you just need to prove that you are the best man (or person) for the job.

@ jmzgee, same thing goes really. You may well be a damn good firefigher, but in the eyes of the people doing the selecting, you need to be better than the other potential recruits. I don't know if there is any counties that yet have a scheme where retained firefighters can just transfer over, but where I am, if I were to get accepted for wholetime, I would have to do the full course, despite firefighting for over 3 years, so there would be no advantages in picking me over any other applicant, unless I was the best and most qualified candidate. It may well be the same where you are.

I've waffled on enough. Shut up Toby.

[rp]

I have to agree Toby - I think you make a good point there.
It is a highly sought after career and there is just a massive amount of people wanting to be firefighters - the service cant give everyone wholetime positions, they get to choose the best of the bunch.

I would say to anyone trying to get in - keep trying and keep enhancing your skills in whatever way necessary so that when you do apply you give the brigade no other option than to offer you a job - prove to them you are the best of the bunch.

[rp]

Geoff - I was at my training centre last night chatting to some of the new recruits.
On the last training course their was a new recruit aged 43 so to answer your question yes at aged 45 you would have every chance of getting a job wholetime.