After you’ve successfully made it through our assessment process, it’s time for your training to begin. You’ll start by going along to a welcome day where we explain more about the Level 3 Operational Firefighter Apprenticeship, which is at the core of our training programme.
Over 15 weeks you’ll follow an intensive training programme. Your trainee salary (£32,280) will start on your first day of training.
You’ll learn about the equipment and procedures that will keep you safe and help support London’s communities. This will include real fire training and use of the breathing apparatus, ladders, hose and immediate emergency care (advanced first aid).
“It was a huge learning curve that has taught me about the importance of hard work.” - Tiarna
The course is fast paced, physical and demanding. You’ll be pushed out of your comfort zone in order to prepare for the role, but it’s one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have. Find out what our new recruits had to say about their experience of training.
Your training will take place at four of our London training venues – Park Royal, Harrow, Plaistow and Barking. You’ll need to be able to get to all three of these venues each day for 8am.
Typically you’ll be at these venues Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm and occasionally at weekends.
After training you’ll often have work you need to complete in the evening, ready for the next day. If you don’t live in London you may want to make arrangements to stay closer to the training venues so you can spend less time commuting and more time studying.
If you don’t have friends of relatives in London who you could stay with, you might like to consider shared local accommodation or arranging a short term let. Some people prefer living with other apprentices on their programme as it means they can study together in the evenings.
You will need to be motivated and organised. We’ll give you a timetable so that you can plan ahead. Let you friends and family know that you might need their support, and where possible try to reduce your other responsibilities as much as possible for this period.
Spend some time researching study skills that will help you, and keep up the level of physical fitness that got you through the assessment process.
Regular sleep, good nutrition and relaxation techniques help strike the balance.
Your trainers, coaches and our learning support team all form a strong support network.
However, most of our trainees say that it’s the other apprentices they go through training with who are the greatest support.
It’s important to speak up if you’re struggling with any aspect of the course so we can help, and don’t hold back from asking those close to you for support with your other responsibilities outside of training.
“By the end of the first week my cohort became a crew, and not only did we get each other through, we had an absolute blast doing it.” - Jolyon
When you’ve successfully completed your training course you’ll be able to invite your loved ones to a pass out ceremony where you can all celebrate your achievement together.
But your training isn’t finished yet. Next you’ll move onto one of our fire stations where you’ll complete the apprenticeship programme. At this point your salary will increase to £33,571.
“When you join station it becomes clear that the training course is just the start of the journey.” – Jolyon
For the next approx. 18-24 months you’ll complete on-the-job training, serving Londoners as a ‘Development Firefighter’. At the end of that time you’ll become a ‘Competent Firefighter’ and your salary will increase to £43,076.
“I still have a lot to learn but my watch (the crew you work with) are really supportive at station and on the fire ground!” - Gemma
