WOMEN WHOLETIME RECRUITMENT HAVE A GO DAY
Saturday 25 February, between 10:00 – 16:00 hours
Birstall Fire and Rescue Station
It’s been more than five years since Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service last recruited wholetime firefighters. This year, due to the Services improved financial position, we have a fantastic opportunity to recruit 25 new wholetime firefighters. The application process officially opens on Monday 10 April at 09:00 hours.
We will be putting on a number of Have A Go taster days in the weeks leading up to application closing date. These Positive Action events enable us to help and encourage people from groups that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. Positive Action is lawful under the Equality Act.
At these Have A Go days we will be inviting underrepresented groups from our communities (women and BMEs) to come along to get an insight into what the role of a firefighter entails. People can also get hands on experience on the job related test exercises involved in the recruitment process. It is hoped that this will go on to encourage more people from underrepresented groups to successfully join the fantastic crews we already have.
The first Have A Go day is taking place on Saturday 25 February and this is open to women only. Other confirmed days so far are:
1 April 2017, 10:00 – 14:00hrs, Birstall Fire and Rescue Station – Women
1 April 2017, 14:00 – 18:00hrs, Birstall Fire and Rescue Station – BME
2 April 2017, 10:00 – 14:00hrs, Birstall Fire and Rescue Station – Women
2 April 2017, 14:00 – 18:00hrs, Birstall Fire and Rescue Station – BME
Steve Lunn, Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, said: “We all know our workforce is not representative of the multi-cultural and diverse communities we serve. This is not a criticism of our current workforce, it’s just a fact and we all know that every fire and rescue service in the country is in the same boat. We need to start to change our employment profile and I am sure you will recognise this is a really important thing to do. The focus of our publicity campaign will therefore be to encourage and target applications from underrepresented groups, including women and black and other ethnic minorities.”
“This will not preclude applications from white British males and every single applicant that successfully completes the process will be judged on their merit – there will be no bias in favour of any particular group or individual. This is the law and I am not going to do anything to compromise our duties.”
We are looking to both local and national media to help raise the profile of our recruitment campaign and our Have A Go day at Birstall Fire and Rescue Station. As this event is a women only day, we are seeking media coverage to be from a female’s perspective on what is expected from potential candidates interested in becoming a female firefighter.
Where to find Birstall Fire and Rescue Station:
1 Birstall Meadow Road, Birstall, Leicester, LE4 3BS
If you are planning on attending the Have A Go day event, can you please confirm your attendance in advance by contacting the Corporate Communications team on the details shown below.
For more information on our recruitment process or to register your interest in attending one of our ‘Have A Go’ days, please visit www.leicestershire-fire.gov.uk/recruitment.
ENDS
Notes to editor
Officers will be available on the day for media work through prior arrangement – photo opportunities will also be available. If you are unable to attend, photos of the event will be available on request.
About the Service
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service provides emergency response, prevention and protection services from 20 stations across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Its headquarters is based in Birstall, Leicester.
The Service’s prevention, education, enforcement and inspection programmes have resulted in significant reductions in the number of incidents. In the last ten years, fire related incidents have reduced by 46 percent.
During 2015/16, the Service attended 666 road traffic collisions, of which 174 were extrications freeing 208 people trapped inside their vehicles and completed 5086 home fire safety checks, fitting almost 4481 smoke alarms. Staff organised or supported almost 1431 events aimed at promoting fire and road safety and arson prevention, whilst also visiting 332 schools to deliver fire and road safety education to pupils.
Contact:
Dominic Halliday
Communications and Digital Media Administrator
0116 229 2178
dominic.halliday@lfrs.org
