How many of you are aware of a MPS initiative entitled the ‘Emerging Leaders Programme?’

Those of you who replied in the negative are in good company because neither did we until earlier today (20/01).However given that it relates to the selection of Inspectors and Chief inspectors- our members- for promotion to the Superintendent ranks and beyond you would have thought it reasonable that we might have at least been notified of it, if not consulted on it prior to the first group of successful applicants being inducted into it at the end of this month.

So what is the Emerging Leaders Programme or ELP I hear you cry? Well to quote directly from the Services documentation about it which we found tucked away on the HR People pages on Aware. ('Career development' box click on 'officers' and you will see a link to the ELP) 'it’s a core component of the MPS Talent Management Strategy and is aimed at identifying and developing those individuals capable of attaining senior levels in the MPS; specifically police officers at the rank of Inspector and Chief Inspector and police staff at Band D, C and equivalent level'.

It announces proudly that the aim of the programme is to identify the best Inspectors, Chief Inspectors…. within the MPS and equip them with the skills experience and exposure they need to progress quickly into senior leadership and command positions.

So what’s new you might be saying we’ve had these support initiatives before. Well the new bit can be found in a statement you won’t find in the upfront advertising blurb for the ELP. It is there though if you look close enough at the ‘Guidance for Applicants and Line Manager’. I quote “Those individuals selected onto the programme will benefit from access to bespoke development and career management support, mentoring and coaching, project and work attachments, as well as a fast track promotion pathway outside the normal corporate promotion route.”

It is likely that, for foreseeable future, the number Chief Inspector vacancies will be severely restricted as the Service still has over 100 on the select list from the 2009 process. In previous years when no select list has existed the number of vacancies has been around 60. Next time for prospective Superintendents it’s likely that you’ll be fighting over as few as 20 spaces.

The ELP seeks to induct approximately 40 individuals into the ‘Programme’ each year. Add to that the potential for 10 or so people to be on HPDS because the ELP is, as well as the HPDS, not instead of, and it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out that the places available for successful candidates via the mainstream systems will be rarer than hen’s teeth!

So my advice to any of you thinking of going for promotion anytime soon is- that you will significantly improve your chances of success if you get yourself on the ELP. The ‘good news’ is that the application form doesn’t look anywhere near as daunting as the mainstream process. In fact if you're good friends with your OCU Commander you are literally half way there! The criteria for success appear to have been made deliberately oblique. A cynic might suggest that’s so that the Service can induct and thus promote those it wants to rather than those deserving of it.  Who said nepotism was dead?

As you might have guessed we’re none too enamoured with this innovative programme but we exist to represent the views of our members. So are we right to be concerned or are we making mountains out of molehills?

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A selection of the comments recieved todate regarding this article can be accessed via this link http://metibb.co.uk/views7.html