Skip navigation
Search
Search
Back

Prison Service Officers (Below Principal Officer)

Prison service officers (below Principal Officer) direct, co-ordinate and participate in guarding inmates and maintaining discipline in prisons and other detention centres.

Wages

New workers
AVERAGE
Experienced
£ 22,590
£ 30,968
£ 39,112

New workers start around £22,590. Normal pay is £30,968 per year. Highly experienced workers can earn up to £39,112.

Available jobs

In the past year there were 27,125 vacancies for this type of job

2.23%

Projected job growth over the next 8 years

Related courses

People work towards these careers by taking these courses at college and uni.

What they do most days?

  • Reports on prisoners.

  • Trains and supervises prison staff.

  • Provides care and support to prisoners in custody including prevention of self harm.

  • Runs prisoner rehabilitation and support programmes.

  • Escorts prisoners transferred from one institution to another.

  • Investigates disturbances or any other unusual occurrences.

  • Guards entrances and perimeter walls.

  • Watches for any infringements of regulations and searches prisoners and cells for weapons, drugs and other contraband items.

  • Escorts prisoners to and from cells and supervises them during meals, recreation and visiting periods.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are specific, learnable, measurable, often industry or occupation-specific abilities related to a position.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Operations Support Systems

  • Optometry

  • Safety Training

  • Psychology

  • Numerical Analysis

  • Contraband Detection And Control

  • Auditing

  • Data Entry

  • Settlement

  • Loans

Soft Skills

Soft skills can be self-taught and usually do not necessitate a certain completed level of education.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Communications

  • Management

  • English Language

  • Customer Service

  • Telephone Skills

  • Detail Oriented

  • Interpersonal Communications

  • Written English

  • Decision Making

  • Operations

How do I get a job like this?

People in these types of job started their career paths after studying courses like the ones below.

Routes to this career

See all

Related careers

Senior Police Officers

Paramedics

Housing Officers

Police Officers (Sergeant and Below)

Police Community Support Officers

Childminders and Related Occupations

Ambulance Staff (Excluding Paramedics)

Rail Travel Assistants

Market Research Interviewers

Air Transport Operatives

Related industry guides

See all

Protective services