PCEP route at GMP

I applied to the PCEP route mid last year. I’ve got through all of the recruitment process now but I’ve got the last little bit left! I got an email today though saying all the 2024/2025 places have been filled☹️ Is anyone else in the same position?

Hello. I am currently in the same exact position. Got the email on the 17th March to confirm that the 2024 to 2025 intakes were filled and that they were now working on the 2025 to 2026 intakes, which start in July. Really hoping I'm on the first intake of 2025 to 2026. Tbh though, it would just be nice to have a starting date at this point

Hey, I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Yeah I’m hoping the same, even though it’s getting really close to July and for me I haven’t heard anything since February☹️ Really hope I hear something soon and I hope you do as well!

I applied to the PCEP route mid last year. I’ve got through all of the recruitment process now but I’ve got the last little bit left! I got an email today though saying all the 2024/2025 places have been filled☹️ Is anyone else in the same position?

Hi! I've also applied for this role. I've completed national sift and about to start the OAC. I've completed the written exercise but I'm not very confident in passing of the briefing and video competency exercises. I wanted to ask you if you know in particular what they will ask me in this section? And how can I pass? Would appreciate any help!

Hey! Yes so In the briefing exercise you will be presented with 10-12 questions (from off the top of my head) about one particular scenario. This is split into parts and you will have to assume the role of a PC. From what I can remember, you will have some time to gather notes. It helped me most to write brief bullet point notes as it’s quick and allowed me to just look back, remind myself of what I wanted to talk about and elaborate on my answer. I believe you have around 3 minutes for your answer and will be assessed on the CVF competencies and values, which are:
•Public service
•We are emotionally aware
•We take ownership
•We are innovative and open-minded
You can read about them and revise them on college of policing😊
For the competency based interview, from off the top of my head there are around 5 questions. I have forgotten how much time you get for each question but for mine, I used the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and linked my answers to the CVF competencies. You can read more about it here: https://www.college.police.uk/career-learning/joining-police/online-assessment-process/online-assessments-candidate-guide
I think my main piece of advice would be to elaborate on your answer as much as you can and revise the CVF competencies before you complete your exercises. Also, I sometimes found it to be quite nerve wracking and I ended up getting ‘foggy brain’ at some points during it which made me forget what I wanted to say! So if you need to have a few seconds just to sit, breathe and have a think about your answer, that’s okay! As long as you answer and cover what you need to, you’ll be absolutely fine😊 I hope this helps!
Good luck! You’ll absolutely smash it🤞🏼

Thank you so much! Also are you allowed to physically write down notes during the briefing exercise im the beginning????

I applied to the PCEP route mid last year. I’ve got through all of the recruitment process now but I’ve got the last little bit left! I got an email today though saying all the 2024/2025 places have been filled☹️ Is anyone else in the same position?

Same position here.
Unfortunately, it's a rather poor reflection on GMP to have such a drawn-out recruitment process with no clear start date, even after successfully completing all the stages.
I really hope they reform the recruitment system in future. As it currently stands, you apply for the role, go through a disjointed, six-month, multi-layered process with minimal communication, and then—as you mentioned—you’re placed in a vague “no guarantees” bracket that spans an entire year. They merely anticipate you may begin at some point within that period.
That’s potentially an 18-month wait for a job. I imagine many people must drop out simply because they can’t afford to wait so long without any certainty.
It seems GMP operates under the assumption that all applicants are already employed, and therefore they’re not causing any real hardship by making people wait indefinitely. This totally disregards students and unemployed candidates—many of whom will be eager (or desperate) to begin, or at least to know when they'll start.
They also recently sent out an email trying to entice applicants over to the DCEP route, which suggests they’ve over-recruited for the PCEP scheme or expected a higher dropout rate. But in the current climate—where jobs are scarce—it’s likely those expected dropouts haven't happened. They certainly shouldn’t be opening the PCEP route again while the current waiting list remains so long.
There are some glaringly obvious reforms they could implement:
I completely agree with you. I’ve been absolutely desperate to start, and it’s been incredibly deflating and draining to be left in limbo for such a long time. It doesn’t reflect well on GMP, and I genuinely hope the system is improved. It’s neither financially nor operationally efficient to run continual recruitment without timely intakes to match.

Yeah I get you. It’s now been 9 months for me since first application and I haven’t heard a single thing in terms of moving forwards since I got that email about the 2024/25 positions being filled.
I got that email about the DCEP course instead and actually decided to go for that purely because there’s a start date.. but literally a couple days later I received another email saying that the DCEP has been put on hold! I’ve recently emailed back to say I now want to be put back on the PCEP as I don’t want anymore delays🥴

Well since getting the DCEP email, I've emailed GMP about my application. The response I got was that I should start after August 2025 and that the vetting forms will be sent in the coming months.
Definitely testing my patience at this point. Based on when I applied and the timeframe other constabularies take to go through the PCEP route, from the closing date (mine being the end of February) to the starting date, I feel like I should receive those vetting forms in June and latest being July. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later

Hi I am also doing the PCEP and started my application in July 2024. The vetting forms you are talking about, I received 2 weeks ago and filled in. Do you think that means I should be starting before August which is your predicted start date ?

Hello. I think its fair to say that you will definitely be starting before me as I applied in November, with a closing date of 25 February and I passed my medical in March. I'm still waiting on the vetting forms.
Also, I was advised that my start date would be after August. Definitely won't be in August. If you can, please can you tell me the closing date of your application and how long you had to wait after completing your medical, to then receive the vetting forms?

I got an email from GMP about 2 weeks ago saying that the next intake dates will commence from September throughout the financial year. I’ve had to email them back to say that I am no longer interested in the DCEP and would like to transfer back to PCEP purely because of the massive delay; I’m so tired of waiting now😅
I have absolutely no idea what is going on with my application and why it’s taking so long, considering it’s now been almost a year since my initial application. I hope we both get our vetting forms soon, fingers crossed🤞🏼

Yeah I get the frustration for sure. I completely ignored the email about the DCEP route, in case it meant waiting longer. Patience is being tested for sure 😅.
When did you apply for the pcep route?
Yeah hopefully we get the email about the vetting forms real soon

I applied in August last year. Yeah hopefully we’ll hear something very soon🤞🏼

Hey guys. Can someone explain the written and briefing exercise please. I think I understand the competency based video interview it’s just using the star method and having an example for each competency whilst explaining how it goes onto to show how I have that particular competency correct me if I’m wrong. But I have my sitting coming up and I would really appreciate you guys guidance on how to prepare and prepare well and in advance with good practice.