Case study: Better training leads to better policing

The better the question

How can what you learn transform who you become?

How EY teams supported Greater Manchester Police to transform the way student officers learn with a new training programme.

This case study supports the EY UK Impact Report 2022

Better training leads to better policing. That was the motivation behind a collaboration between Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and EY to transform how new recruits learn.

With almost 7,000 officers, GMP is one of the largest police forces in the UK. As part of a root and branch improvement programme, the force asked EY to create a partnership to ensure student officers were given the right knowledge, skills, and behaviours to best protect the communities they serve.

In 2021, the EY Policing team collaborated with GMP to define a bespoke approach to delivering degree-level qualifications for new recruits, bringing on board university learning providers.

An off-the-shelf approach was not an option for this programme. EY worked with colleagues from the GMP to build on The Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) across five workstreams, all aiming to generate long-term value for the force.

The College of Policing’s PEQF is a mandatory professional learning framework being introduced across forces in England and Wales. It is designed to make implementing, assessing and accrediting initial police training more consistent, and to support the professionalisation of policing and improve development opportunities. It also supports in aligning accredited learning programmes across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

The programme needed to blend the best of GMP’s existing learning strategies with the education market. An EY project team from across service lines including People and Workforce, Business Consulting and Strategy and Transactions shared their skills and experience in areas such as procurement, operating models, change management and programme delivery.

Photo of two colleagues using sticky notes on a glass wall.

The better the answer

Multidisciplinary teams collaborated on a new learning strategy

A team from across EY supported the force to transform learning for students.

Though mandatory, the PEQF offered an opportunity to implement two new police training learning pathways for the hundreds of new police offer recruits who join each year: the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) and the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP).

Working in close collaboration, we designed and implemented a transformation programme that improved GMP’s learning capabilities and served to underpin their social value objectives. Our experience across People and Business Consulting, including learning and leadership, teaming, procurement and communications, helped to set up a successful implementation of the programme.

Drawing on our long-standing relationships across public, private and voluntary sectors, we fostered connections with other organisations, such as the London Metropolitan Police, to establish best-practice principles and shared learning.

During implementation, a cross service line team planned, managed and oversaw the collaboration with new university partners and defined a detailed project plan to implement the learning pathways. We also created a knowledge transfer approach for each workstream, helping GMP to develop its own internal capabilities once the project had completed.

We also established a Social Value workstream, which hosted a Violence Reduction Unit conference with 23 guest speakers and 1,000 participants from more than 30 groups, including local schools and charities, which made a difference for organisations across the UK.

After the launch of the programme in 2021, the EY team implemented a support approach to troubleshoot issues and continuously improve the learning delivery and experience.

How EY can help

Learning and development consulting

To adapt to the emerging new work environment, people will also need vastly upgraded digital, technical, management and cultural capabilities.

I wasn’t prepared for everything we have all been through together. I am a very different (better) Police Officer for having worked as part of this collaborative Team with EY.

Chief Inspector in GMP and PEQF Business Change Manager

Photo of colleagues sitting in classsroom.

The better the world works

A new learning pathway for GMP

Hundreds of officers a year will now receive learning support to help them in their new roles.

The results were rapid and positive. Within just three months, 188 recruits were enlisted and 85% of students reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the teaching and learning.

The programme has the potential to deliver cost savings, from lower employer national insurance contributions for apprentice officers who are aged 25 or under. Overall, hundreds of officers a year will now receive academic and operational learning support to help them effectively in their roles and new-recruit police constables will now be awarded a degree qualification on successful completion of the programme.

GMP has already been able to redeploy officers from training to front-line policing units as a result of the new learning partnership. A chief inspector with the force commended the partnership, saying: “When I started on the PEQF Project, I knew that it would be exciting, challenging and exhausting, but I wasn’t prepared for everything in and out of work that we have all been through together. I am a very different (better) Police Officer for having worked as part of this collaborative Team with EY.”

This learning programme will ultimately help create a safer Greater Manchester through an engaged and upskilled workforce.

Programme in numbers

Of the 188 recruits enlisted within 3 months of the programme launch:

Trainee satisfaction

85%

satisfied with the quality of teaching and learning.

Redeployment

officers redeployed to frontline policing.