Prison instructor to police trainer
A prison instructor already meets 44% of what the police trainer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.1/ 100
1 How much of what a police trainer is expected to do is already part of a prison instructor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the police trainer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A police trainer role treats 9 of its required skills as things a prison instructor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply intercultural teaching strategies
- assess students
- assist students in their learning
- comply with the principles of self-defence
- guarantee students' safety
- identify security threats
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A police trainer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a prison instructor background worth leading with.
- already held comply with the principles of self-defence assisting and caring
- already held legal use-of-force business, administration and law
- already held write situation reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adult education education
- already held law enforcement services
- already held identify security threats assisting and caring
All 14 carried skills, including the 9 the police trainer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply first response required
- still to learn ensure compliance with types of weapons required
- still to learn ensure law application required
- still to learn manage major incidents required
- optional, not held ensure public safety and security optional
- optional, not held check official documents optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- still to learn ensure student welfare required
- still to learn handle case evidence required
- still to learn instruct public required
- still to learn teach law enforcement principles required
- still to learn road traffic laws required
- optional, not held conduct drug abuse tests optional
- optional, not held analyse legal evidence optional
- optional, not held examine crime scenes optional
- optional, not held perform underwater investigations optional
- optional, not held diving operation requirements optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
- optional, not held train animals for professional purposes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a police trainer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply first response practise this
- 02 ensure compliance with types of weapons practise this
- 03 ensure law application practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held apply intercultural teaching strategies skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held law enforcement knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held adult education knowledge
- already held manage resources for educational purposes skill
- already held perform classroom management skill
- already held provide lesson materials skill
- already held write situation reports skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held international security studies optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held international security studies optional
- optional, not held conduct drug abuse tests optional
- optional, not held ensure public safety and security optional
- optional, not held train animals for professional purposes optional
- optional, not held analyse legal evidence optional
- optional, not held check official documents optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held diving operation requirements optional
- optional, not held examine crime scenes optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
- optional, not held perform underwater investigations optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
23 held skills the police trainer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role apply teaching strategies skill
- not needed by the target role assess offenders' risk behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role behavioural disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct frisk skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures skill
- not needed by the target role correctional procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- not needed by the target role escort defendants skill
- not needed by the target role identify available services skill
- not needed by the target role identify training needs skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role maintain operational communications skill
- not needed by the target role mentor individuals skill
- not needed by the target role oversee rehabilitation process skill
- not needed by the target role practice vigilance skill
- not needed by the target role propose leisure activities skill
- not needed by the target role psychological counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role reinforce positive behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role restrain individuals skill
- not needed by the target role training subject expertise knowledge
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn road traffic laws required
- optional, not held international security studies optional
- optional, not held diving operation requirements optional
- optional, not held illegal substances optional
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a prison instructor become a police trainer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A prison instructor already covers 44% of what a police trainer is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 9 of which the police trainer role treats as required.
What skills does a prison instructor need to become a police trainer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply first response.
How hard is the move from prison instructor to police trainer?
Its learning distance is 56.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.