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Career change from police officer

Bradley

Hello,

I have worked in the police now for almost 10 years but would like to leave. My most recent role has been in an L&D environment but still as a frontline officer.

Most of the roles that I am finding an interest in require a CIPD qualification.

Does anyone have any advice on where to start as I am worried about paying a lot of money into a career that I could later decide isn't for me.

I have very little experience outside of the police so it is quite a daunting thought to leave and I ideally don't want to drop my salary too much.

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  • Well, you're unlikely to find anyone on a CIPD forum who will tell you not to get CIPD qualifications. But I can tell you that they are rarely a waste of money. Some of the best managers I've worked with have been those with CIPD qualifications even though they don't work in HR. It gives them a grounding in the core principles of management practice that stands them in excellent stead regardless of where they work or what they do.

    More non-HR people with CIPD qualifications will only be a boon.

    In your case, though, the question is whether you want to work in L&D. I often counsel people moving out of line management or finance into HR who think they have a decent grasp of HR practice because of their exposure to payroll, policy or Employee Relations casework. They think the transition to HR ought to be easy. It rarely is because their exposure is only surface level. They know how to read the clock, but have no idea how the gears fit together. So when the clock breaks, they are at a loss.

    It is much the same in L&D, but it's less like a clock and more like poetry. You may be able to recite a poem fluently from memory, but do you understand the subtle interplay of rhyme and metre that cause the words to impact the reader so much deeper than the words alone can achieve? If not, then whilst you may be an excellent presenter of information, you can't work as an L&D professional.

    The CIPD qualifications aim to provide not necessarily that core knowledge but, at least, the tools to be able to pick through an organisation's policies, culture, resources and people to be able to begin assembling the knowledge from which effective L&D solutions are built.

    I've known a few ex-coppers who transitioned into HR. Once they adjusted their perspective to stop seeing all employees as potential offenders, they did pretty well.
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  • Well, you're unlikely to find anyone on a CIPD forum who will tell you not to get CIPD qualifications. But I can tell you that they are rarely a waste of money. Some of the best managers I've worked with have been those with CIPD qualifications even though they don't work in HR. It gives them a grounding in the core principles of management practice that stands them in excellent stead regardless of where they work or what they do.

    More non-HR people with CIPD qualifications will only be a boon.

    In your case, though, the question is whether you want to work in L&D. I often counsel people moving out of line management or finance into HR who think they have a decent grasp of HR practice because of their exposure to payroll, policy or Employee Relations casework. They think the transition to HR ought to be easy. It rarely is because their exposure is only surface level. They know how to read the clock, but have no idea how the gears fit together. So when the clock breaks, they are at a loss.

    It is much the same in L&D, but it's less like a clock and more like poetry. You may be able to recite a poem fluently from memory, but do you understand the subtle interplay of rhyme and metre that cause the words to impact the reader so much deeper than the words alone can achieve? If not, then whilst you may be an excellent presenter of information, you can't work as an L&D professional.

    The CIPD qualifications aim to provide not necessarily that core knowledge but, at least, the tools to be able to pick through an organisation's policies, culture, resources and people to be able to begin assembling the knowledge from which effective L&D solutions are built.

    I've known a few ex-coppers who transitioned into HR. Once they adjusted their perspective to stop seeing all employees as potential offenders, they did pretty well.
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