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Prison instructor

Alternative titles for this job include Instructional officer

Prison instructors teach prisoners new skills to help them find work after their release.

Average salary (a year)

£18,000 Starter

to

£29,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 39 a week

You could work

between 8am and 6pm eve

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a prison instructor

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course

College

You'll need, or be prepared to work towards, a level 3 vocational qualification in your subject area or trade.

You may find it useful to do qualifications in assessment, like the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement.

Entry requirements

You may need:

  • GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths

More Information

More Information

Further information

Find out more about working for HM Prison & Probation Service and about specialist production instructor roles in:

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • the ability to teach learners how to do something
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • customer service skills
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

You would also need to meet the usual Prison Service entry requirements, which include nationality and security checks. See HM Prison & Probation Service for more details.

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In your day-to-day duties, you could:

  • act as a role model for prisoners
  • introduce new prisoners to the workshop health and safety rules
  • update prisoners' learning and attendance records
  • support prisoners working towards qualifications
  • monitor discipline and behaviour
  • search prisoners using 'rub down" or "pat down" method
  • keep the workshop area and tools safe and in working order
  • maintain stocks of equipment and materials

Working environment

You could work in a prison.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and physically and emotionally demanding.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

You could move up to industries manager or other management roles within the prison service.

You could change to other areas of training or instructing.

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Current opportunities

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