With wholetime recruitment opening later this month, the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have begun to host ‘Have a Go’ days.
The first event took place at Ryde Fire Station recently, where 34 people took part in the day’s activities. They were given the chance to try out some of the physical tests and find out about other aspects of the role, such as community safety. They were also given information on the recruitment process and had the opportunity to speak to operational staff and ask questions.
Andy Cave, Station Manager of Learning and Development, ran the day and took the opportunity to speak to all participants before they left.
Andy said:
“Have a Go days are important as they give people the opportunity to try out the activities without the pressure of being tested.
“Some had more than one go at specific things they were either nervous of carrying out or thought they would possibly struggle with.
“We set up all the required tests so the participants could ‘have a go’ at everything. I think this is essential as it means they are a bit more familiar with the task when asked to carry it out later as part of the selection process.
Article continues below this advertisement “We kept the day nice and relaxed and gave all participants the opportunity to ask questions. We also provided fire kit so they had the full experience.”
The 34 participants were accommodated throughout the day to comply with COVID protocols, to keep everyone safe.
In other news, firefighter Ben Cooper is leaving the service after having served 6 years and 2 months.
Ben joined the Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service on the 23rd June 2014 at Ventnor Fire Station as an on-call firefighter. During this time Ben also served at Ryde Fire Station as a temporary wholetime and on-call firefighter for just over a year.
Watch Manager Dan Hayes said:
“I would like to thank Ben for his service and I wish him all the very best for the future.”
I spent a good number of years in the service and the team at Ryde training We’re excellent in the delivery of training