Fire and rescue service launch new recruitment drive

The Scottish Fire and Rescue service are launching a new recruitment drive to find permanent firefighters.

Rope rescue training with the SFRS

The Service said it is putting recruitment ‘back into communities’ with the new campaign kicking off next Tuesday, October 27.

As they hunt for new staff in Edinburgh and across Scotland the service will carry on with year-round recruitment but focused on different communities based on area needs.

The ‘We Are SFRS … You Are SFRS’ campaign will feature firefighters speaking about their backgrounds in a bid to inspire more people from diverse groups to follow in their footsteps.

Liz Barnes with trainees from SFRS

Less than five per cent of firefighters in Scotland are women and less than one per cent belong to the LGBT+ community or an ethnic minority.

Liz Barnes, Director of People and Organisational Development said: “Our message is simple: if you have the commitment, the fitness, the enthusiasm and the drive to work as part of a national team to save lives - then You Are SFRS and we want you to apply.”

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service reflects our country’s very unique and diverse communities.

Under the new recruitment process, applicants will be progressed for jobs in the area they pick at the time they apply. Ms Barnes added: “We are putting firefighter recruitment back into the communities we protect, based entirely on local needs.

“Rather than recruiting nationally and selecting candidates from a larger pool of applicants, we will now be targeting our recruitment at where it is needed most.

“Firefighters will be recruited from the area, train in and work in the area they applied for - and by moving to open-recruitment, we can ensure a steady influx of trainees into the Service who will go on to protect their communities.”

Firefighters will undergo a three-month intensive training programme, including learning how to tackle fires in homes and businesses, rescue casualties and render first aid, attend road traffic collisions, and work safely at heights.

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