As well as people whose loved ones are caught up in the system, a lot of visitors come to DoingTime because they are thinking about a career in the Prison or Probation Service. Literally thousands of vacancies open up across England & Wales every year, in a much wider range of roles than most people realise. This page is a plain-English starting point – not official careers advice – with links to the real, current vacancies and application process.
The information on this page is based on the law and systems in England & Wales.
The main types of job
Prison Officer – the frontline uniformed role, responsible for the day-to-day safety and supervision of prisoners and supporting rehabilitation. No qualifications are required, but you must pass fitness, medical and security checks.
Operational Support Grade (OSG) – supports the daily running of a prison in non-uniformed roles such as gate security, reception, visits and stores, without the direct prisoner-supervision duties of an officer.
Prison Custody / Youth Justice Worker – equivalent frontline roles within the Youth Custody Service, working with 12 to 18 year olds in custody.
Prison Teacher / Education, Skills and Work staff – deliver education and vocational training to help prisoners gain skills and qualifications for release.
Prison Caterer – catering staff responsible for feeding the prison population, usually requiring relevant catering qualifications or experience.
Psychologist – assesses risk and delivers treatment programmes to support rehabilitation; requires relevant psychology qualifications.
Business Administrator – office and administrative support roles within a prison.
Probation Officer – works with people on community and prison sentences, advising courts and supervising offenders in the community; trained through the fully-funded PQiP programme (see below).
Probation Services Officer – an entry-level probation role, supporting lower-risk offenders, often a route into the qualified Probation Officer role.
Case Administrator – administrative support within probation teams.
Community Payback Supervisor – supervises people carrying out unpaid work as part of a community sentence.
Approved Premises Residential Worker – provides 24-hour supervision and support to residents of probation approved premises (bail and post-release accommodation).
Salary ranges
Pay varies by role, region and experience, and changes over time – the figures below are a general guide only, correct as of September 2026. Always check the official listing for the exact role and location before applying.
Prison Officer: typically starts in the region of £34,000 to £38,000 a year outside London, rising with experience and progression, with London roles starting significantly higher – broadly £41,000 to £43,000-plus in outer and inner London respectively.
Probation Officer: trainees on the PQiP programme (see below) are paid around £28,000 while they train; once qualified, pay rises to around £37,000-plus, with an additional London weighting of around £4,500.
Other roles (OSG, caterer, business administrator, case administrator, community payback supervisor) generally start below prison officer pay, closer to standard Civil Service support-grade rates – check the individual vacancy for the exact figure, as these vary more by location and grade.
How to apply
All current vacancies are advertised on the official Prison and Probation Jobs site, which is the best starting point for browsing roles by type and location. Vacancies also appear on jobs.justice.gov.uk (the wider Ministry of Justice jobs board) and the general Civil Service Jobs site. For prison officer roles specifically, applicants typically go through an online application, a values-based/situational judgement assessment, an interview, and a medical and fitness assessment, followed by security vetting before a start date is confirmed – the exact process is set out on each vacancy listing. Probation Officer training runs through the fully-funded PQiP programme, a Level 6 (degree-equivalent) qualification combined with paid on-the-job training over 15 to 27 months; places are recruited in intakes, so check when the next one opens.
Something worth knowing before you apply
The Prison Service has had a well-documented staffing shortage for several years. Official figures show prison officer leaving rates running at roughly 9–15% a year in recent years, with the large majority of those who leave doing so by resignation rather than retirement or dismissal, and a shortfall of over a thousand full-time posts against target as of late 2025.
To help fill the gap, HMPPS has also recruited significant numbers of staff from overseas on sponsored Skilled Worker visas. Reporting based on government figures put the number of serving prison officers on Skilled Worker visas at over 1,000 as of 2026, with more than 700 Nigerian nationals recruited as prison officers in a single recent year, and applicants from African countries making up around 80% of applications for the role in that period. This recruitment drive has not been trouble-free: there have been reports, including from the Prison Officers’ Association, of newly arrived overseas recruits struggling with the cost of living and a lack of arranged accommodation, with some reportedly sleeping in cars shortly after starting the job.
Whether visa sponsorship is itself a significant part of the appeal for some overseas applicants – separate from the job itself – is a fair question, and one that has been raised within the service, but it is not something HMPPS publishes hard figures on; turnover isn’t officially broken down by recruitment route or nationality. What is clear from the evidence above is that overseas recruitment has been a significant and deliberate part of the response to chronic understaffing, that some of those recruits have had a difficult start, and that the service’s overall turnover is already very high for a range of reasons. If you are considering this as a genuine long-term career, it is worth going into it with realistic expectations of the pay, the location you may be posted to, and the demands of the job, whatever route you are applying by.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need qualifications to become a prison officer?
No formal qualifications are required, but you must pass medical, fitness and security vetting checks, and demonstrate the resilience and communication skills the role requires.
Can I apply from overseas?
HMPPS has recruited significant numbers of staff from overseas in recent years via sponsored Skilled Worker visas, though visa rules and eligibility change over time – check the current position on the official Prison and Probation Jobs site before applying from outside the UK.
How long does training take?
Prison officer training begins with an initial training period before you start on the wing; Probation Officer training through PQiP takes 15 to 27 months and leads to a full Level 6 qualification.
Is probation the same as being a prison officer?
No. Prison officers work inside prisons supervising people serving custodial sentences. Probation staff supervise people serving community sentences or released from prison, mostly working in the community and courts, and require a different qualification route (PQiP).