Staff Experiences of the Professional Qualification in Probation
- Date: Thursday 10 July 2025
- Location: University of Leeds
- Cost: Free
Join us for a one-day conference exploring how improving the training experiences of probation officers through the PQiP can help tackle the sector’s recruitment and retention crisis.
About the Event
The Probation Service is experiencing a retention crisis, in which there are currently 1,679 probation officer vacancies. This means that recruitment is a Government priority; it is crucial for the Service’s ability to rehabilitate people on probation and protect the public. Better understanding the needs of staff undergoing professional training can help to build resilience, thereby addressing retention issues. However, little research exists on trainees’ experiences of the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP), the current professional qualification route. This one-day conference at the University of Leeds seeks to bring together probation stakeholders, including academics, PQiP providers, HM Inspectorate of Probation, policymakers from HM Prison and Probation Service, and managers and practitioners. The conference provides a forum in which to engage with the findings from ongoing research projects related to the PQiP and the training experiences of other, comparable professions; and to discuss how probation training can be improved to enhance professional practice and address the recruitment crisis.
Date: 10 July, 2025
Location: Clarendon Building room 1.03