Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Working For the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

A career in the SFRS is wide and varied. As well as excellent learning and development opportunities, working with us you can expect:

• A wide variety of Operational and Support roles
• A rewarding career
• A competitive salary
• A final salary pension scheme / excellent contributory pension scheme
• Excellent training and career progression opportunities
• Generous leave entitlement that increases with service
• Flexible Working arrangements
• Personalised range of employee benefits available to you and your family too

Working for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is a rewarding experience. Whilst we offer a very competitive salary and benefits package, excellent training, development and opportunities to progress your career, many of the people who work for us say that the biggest benefit they get, is the job itself - playing your own part in an organisation that saves lives.

We also believe in nurturing talent and developing future leaders, and for that we need people with the determination and enthusiasm to succeed. As a member of our staff you will be encouraged to follow a Personal Development Plan to progress your career against recognised goals.

Training requirements are different for each role, but we take an all-round approach to your learning and development, so you will know that whatever job you take on, you will always have the skills to do it - and to do it well. For more information on working with us, please visit the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Diversity, Inclusion and Positive Action within SFRS

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve.

To achieve this, we are taking a range of steps to improve equality and equal access to opportunities within our organisation; whilst always maintaining our high standards in ensuring those successful in their applications to join the SFRS succeed on their own merit.

We encourage people from all communities to consider careers with the SFRS as we offer exciting opportunities across a range of roles. We work hard to remove disadvantages that may affect underrepresented groups within our communities. This is done through an ongoing programme of Positive Action Initiatives which we deliver to provide information and support to those individuals who are thinking of joining the SFRS. 

We have introduced a number of employee networks including a LGBT Network and Women’s Network to give employees a voice and an opportunity to have a positive influence on our workplace culture, inform our decision making and contribute to improving our ambitions as a service.

There's much more to the SFRS than you'd imagine.

Most people assume that the Service is made up only of firefighters and control room staff who save lives by responding to emergency calls. The fact is that there is a rich variety of roles with both uniformed and non-uniformed staff working together for a safer Scotland.

We use increasingly sophisticated techniques for managing emergency and rescue operations, people, equipment and resources. We need our employees to plan, control and support activities at all levels and that's why we're committed to the learning and development of every member of staff. We believe in developing people to reach their full potential, from the moment they join and right through their career.

Whatever your chosen career path, we will provide you with access to a range of professional qualifications and personal development opportunities to support you in your job and help progress your career. For example, all new Firefighters (Wholetime) are trained to SVQ level 3 and we provide a wide range of role specific programmes for all staff. As people progress into management roles, we may offer access to HNCs, Diplomas, and MBAs.

For more information on working with us, please visit the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service website .

Our Firefighters sit at the heart of our communities and work in an extremely challenging, demanding yet rewarding role. As well as responding to a whole range of emergencies that may include fires, road traffic collisions, flooding and other natural disasters, our Firefighters have an equally important role within the area of community safety.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A FIREFIGHTER

To join the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as a firefighter, applicants must be aged 18 years or over, meet the required medical and physical fitness standards, especially aerobic fitness and upper body strength, and have a good standard of vision and colour perception.

Being a firefighter is a physical job however, just as important are qualities like common sense, commitment and enthusiasm. You will need to demonstrate that you have the potential to carry out this challenging role through a rigorous recruitment process.

FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENT

Recruitment will now be open year-round with shifting regional focuses through the North, East and West of the country. The numbers of candidates who are progressed is determined by how many trainee Firefighters we need to recruit and the Service needs at each Service Delivery Area.

Firefighter recruitment is always a competitive process. The recruitment process is a staged progressive process. Candidates require to successfully complete each stage in order to progress to the next. For detailed information on the recruitment process, please visit the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service website .

There is no deadline for submitting your application. Our website and media posts will indicate when we are progressing applications for the North, East and West of Scotland and this should inform when you should consider submitting your application.

Modern Apprenticeship

New Firefighters joining SFRS will undertake their three year development programme as a Modern Apprenticeship.

At the end of the programme trainee firefighters will receive a Modern Apprenticeship qualification as well as an SVQ.

Is being a firefighter the role for you?

We have developed a SFRS Values self-selection questionnaire that all applicants must take.

The short questionnaire is designed to help you understand the extent to which your personal values “fit” with the values that are most important to the SFRS.

We encourage you to consider the feedback provided before progressing your application.

On Call Firefighters operate ‘on-call’ and respond to emergency calls via a pager from their home or place of work at any time of the day or night.

They provide vital fire and rescue cover often in remote and rural communities, protecting local people and businesses in the area they live in from fire and other emergencies. Not only will those who become On Call Firefighters be performing a highly valuable role in their local area, but they will be taught vital life-saving skills that will be of real benefit to them as individuals.

It’s a challenging role within a team spirited environment where all have pride in working for the SFRS.

Many of our On Call Firefighters believe that the biggest benefit they get is the job itself, but you can also expect excellent training opportunities.

Our trainee On Call Firefighters attend a two-week residential training course at a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service site and require to attend a further Breathing Apparatus course within the first 12-weeks of employment. You’ll learn basic core competence skills including operation of fire service ladders, fire appliances and pumps including various other pieces of fire and rescue service equipment.

From the time you join until the moment you leave, education and training forms a highly significant part of every working day.