A Career as a Trading Standards Officer

Interested?

What is the Trading Standards Service?
The Trading Standards Service enforces the law relating to standards of quantity, quality, safety, consumer credit and much more: a vast range of legislation designed to protect both the consumer and the trader.

The success of the Service depends to a large degree on working with business and industry and establishing mutual respect and good relationships. The Service also pursues an active public relations programme making use of national and local news media.

What kind of job is it?
The job of the Trading Standards Officer is a very flexible and varied one, and is open equally to men and women. There is the opportunity to plan work schedules in a unique way, combining a wide range of duties in and out of the office environment. The demands of the Service are high, but the rewards in terms of job satisfaction are also high.

What educational attainments do I need?
To become a trainee for the Diploma in Trading Standards (DTS), the comprehensive and compulsory qualification necessary for employment as a fully qualified Trading Standards Officer, you will need a minimum of five GCSE passes, at least two at A-levels, including English or English Language, mathematics and physics, or the equivalent Scottish qualifications. Some universities, including Manchester Metropolitan, offer degrees which earn exemptions from papers in the Diploma.

How do you train?
After an initial probationary period trainees are given full facilities to obtain their qualifications. For the Diploma in Trading Standards a practical work training record is kept for each student, which has to be completed to show that all the necessary practical training has been undertaken. On the job training is part of the training programme.

The full cost of attending courses and a substantial contribution towards the cost of providing text books is met by the local authority.

Those officers who show potential for promotion may be given special management training after initial qualification, which can be obtained at any age.

What do the examinations involve?
The Diploma in Trading Standards is a comprehensive qualification covering the majority of work undertaken in Trading Standards Departments. It is administered by the Local Government Management Board and includes the statutory qualification which is compulsory before anyone can act as an Inspector of Weights and Measures.

The subjects include a detailed consideration of both criminal and civil law relating to consumer protection, metrology and the technology relating to goods and services commonly supplied to consumers, statistics, trading practices, practical aspects of enforcement and the provision of advice. The examination includes practical work, the submission of an extensive project and an oral examination.

What qualities do I need?

common sense
an ability to communicate well with people from all walks of life in varying circumstances
self-reliance, integrity, independence of mind and ability to take an impartial view
an aptitude for technical matters
a flair for the law and an ability to comprehend written law and court and legal procedures
tenacity and an unwillingness to accept anything simply at its face value
Salary

During training the officer will be paid a salary on the general career grade of the particular local authority by whom he or she is employed. These grades vary, but they are generally equivalent to training salaries paid for professions in the public service. On qualification the officer will be appointed on a salary within the administrative and professional grades of the local authority salary scales.

Further advice and information can be obtained from Staffordshire Trading Standards at:
14 Martin Street,
Stafford,
Tel: (01785) 277823

Last Modified: 09/11/2005 13:56:48
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