In August, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) welcomed five young people from across the county as part of the Summer Internship Scheme.
The Summer Internship Scheme encourages those who may not have considered a career in the fire and rescue sector to explore some of the many roles available to them. This year, the scheme was open to people from Berkshire who are aged 17-18 and from ethnic groups that are currently under-represented in the Service.
During the five-week programme, interns worked as part of several teams and took part in activities aimed at increasing their awareness of the work done by the Service.
They also visited five different fire stations over the course of their placements, where firefighters and fire safety inspectors taught them more about their roles. As part of these station visits, the interns took part in firefighting drills, worked with firefighters and joined our inspectors on fire safety audits.
At the end of the five weeks, the interns delivered a presentation about their experience at RBFRS, which was delivered to members of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, Wayne Bowcock, Chief Fire Officer, and staff from across the Service.
Claudia Trott, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead, said: “Now in its third year, our Summer Internship Scheme has allowed the Service to engage with young people from across Berkshire who might not have previously considered a career in the fire and rescue sector.
“It was a pleasure to welcome out latest cohort of interns and introduce them to the Service. They made positive contributions during their time with us and developed important professional skills that they will be able to take forward into their future careers.
“The Scheme has also taught the Service valuable lessons, further broadening our understanding of how to engage with younger people and some of the diverse communities within Berkshire. The lessons learned from programmes such as the Summer Internship Scheme will better allow us to engage with communities across Berkshire and develop new recruitment pathways for people to join the Service.”
“It was a pleasure to welcome out latest cohort of interns and introduce them to the Service. They made positive contributions during their time with us and developed important professional skills that they will be able to take forward into their future careers.”
Claudia Trott, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead
To find out more about the Summer Internship Scheme, please visit our website.