Calgary Police

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Nov 18th 2007 | 5:04 am

#301

dawnzocalgary

BE Enthusiast

Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 319

From: Scotland to Calgary....miss the Chipie

Re: Calgary Police

Ann, thanks for the help......i was al ittle confused and every time i talk to the office they tell me to check the website which doesnt help out too much

Hopefully i wont have to wait for 2 weeks on the results then, even if i can get them within a week i will have time to fit in the PARE before heading out on vacation.....I just really want to be able to submit and then sitback and relax on holiday and not have to worry about it all for a week.

Good to know its the same test, i was getting worried that i was reading up on all the wrong things

Thanks again

Dawn

Quote:

Originally Posted by ann m

Dawn - Hi

As you are already resident in Calgary, you are probably being treated to a slightly different process, like a 'normal' Canadian (

) to most of the people on here. When the UK people go over to Calgary, their timetable for all the tests is already mapped out, and squeezed into a 7-10 day period. They all do get the written test results pretty quickly, and usually you are not allowed to progress onto the next tests until you have passed each one, if that makes sense. So someone might kick off their week with the written tests, and only when they have passed them, are they allowed to turn up for the interview and/or psych test and/or PARE (whichever way round they are scheduled). Alot of people do the PARE early in their week - and if they fail, they still have time to squeeze in one last go before they get on the flight home!!

Perhaps, and I'm guessing here, because you are not being given the opportunity to slot all the tests into a 10 day period, they just kinda get round to each stage at a slower pace??

The different initials are still the same tests - don't worry - there is/was a change in translation a while ago I think for Alberta and other provinces.
Written Communication Test versus the Alberta Communication Test (and I think Ontario call theirs the PATI !). All the same thing.

Hope that helps ... good luck

Nov 18th 2007 | 9:51 am

#302

ann m

Lost in BE Cyberspace

Joined: Jul 2006

Posts: 7,866

From: Cochrane, Alberta

Re: Calgary Police

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxroot

canadians in general do not get much leave. Maybe 2-3 weeks a year. I'm on 29 days at the moment and on shifts that works out as quite a lot. Is there a big drop?
Also Why Calgary over Edmonton?

Cheers

Kenny

Kenny - Hi

Annual Leave is one of the biggest topics of conversation and gripes on the main Canada forum (along with marmite!!) - and yes, it is pretty cr** here. 12 days. That's it.
However, it is fairly easy to build up a nice little 'pot' of time off.

Calgary vs Edmonton - also big topic. I'm biased, obviously !

Calgary - Nearer the mountains - 1 hour versus 4 hours
Calgary - Nearer the mountains - fab views !
Calgary - Further south - marginally warmer (but we're not talking tropical here) - and therefore benefits more from the chinook winds in the winter which warm things up frequently.
Calgary - recruitment dept generally more welcoming and professional !
Calgary - police training not so 'militaristic' for want of a better word

Edmonton - marginally cheaper house prices - but both cities prices have escalated hugely in last two years
Someone else help me out with Edmonton please !

Nov 18th 2007 | 12:28 pm

#303

dawnzocalgary

BE Enthusiast

Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 319

From: Scotland to Calgary....miss the Chipie

Re: Calgary Police

When i was in Scotland i had 25 days and typcailly around 14 days flexi time on top of that.....when i moved here i was lucky enough to get a job where i got 15 days right away (some places you only get 10)!!

But, after 3 years i dont find it much of a problem....summers are way nicer than those of scotland so to have 4-5 months of straight warmth is nice and makes it feel like you are actually getting a break, even just from sitting out on the deck the odd night!

Although winters are long and its then that i always feel that a holiday is nice. The lack of holidays is a common concern for lots of new immigrants but it personally wasnt a shock to me.

Dawn

canadians in general do not get much leave. Maybe 2-3 weeks a year. I'm on 29 days at the moment and on shifts that works out as quite a lot. Is there a big drop?
Also Why Calgary over Edmonton?

Nov 20th 2007 | 5:10 am

#304

linuxroot

Just Joined

Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 2

linuxroot is an unknown quantity at this point

Re: Calgary Police

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm really looking forward to making it accross this feb. I'll put an application in now , but I don't expect much will have happened by then. Out of interest - do any qualifications or police experience count for anything? I'm a Family Liason officer and a Forensic Road Crash investigator. I would not expect an specialisms to be even open for consideration for at least 5 to 8 years back on the street (which I am looking forward to)- but at the end of that will any qualifications from the UK actually be of any use? Quality of life for me and the kids is the main reason for wanting to move- but I still enjoy my job and I want to keep doing it.

Thanks again

Nov 20th 2007 | 7:37 am

#305

ann m

Lost in BE Cyberspace

Joined: Jul 2006

Posts: 7,866

From: Cochrane, Alberta

Re: Calgary Police

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxroot

but at the end of that will any qualifications from the UK actually be of any use? Quality of life for me and the kids is the main reason for wanting to move- but I still enjoy my job and I want to keep doing it.

I'm going to quote another poster here now ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickola

be prepared to wait 5 yrs for you to be considered for any type of promotion. other specialities may come sooner, but if you havnt done it the Calgary way.....you havnt done it.

Hubby has come from a very specialist post and it must be said, has felt distinctly 'de-valued' in training since coming here. He has a very sore tongue from biting it so much. We can only hope that 'real life' outside the training environment is better.
Going back to training school is just one of those hurdles to overcome, if you want everything else here ... and so far none of my family are complaining about life in general here - at all. The opposite, in fact, so far - very happy all round.

After the initial couple of years, one would hope to be able to 'prove' other skills you have, and be allowed to apply for other roles to put them all to good use again. Calgary Police, in my opinion, are missing out on so much bloody good experience by being a little narrow-minded on this point. And we haven't found them to be exactly open-minded on many issues. But this is their force, this is the way they do things, and it works for them ....

I try to reverse the situation and wonder how a UK force would treat a new-comer from Canada, or Oz, or anywhere in fact. I know they would still get a large dose of 'this is the way WE do it' ... The expression 'suck it up' comes to mind

Nov 21st 2007 | 7:31 am

#306

KMFPod

Forum Regular

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 47

KMFPod is an unknown quantity at this point

Re: Calgary Police

Hi everyone

It arrived at long last - the PPR letter! Going to the High Commission tomorrow with the remaining bits and can't wait to see that lovely stamp in the passports in a couple of weeks.

MarkH: I'll no doubt see you outside as you collect yours. I'm hoping to be there for 1pm and will be in casual jeans and a black North Face coat, so feel free to say Hi!

On a residential course in Worcester at the moment and the network is barring me from putting smiley things on, otherwise I'd be having a field day I'm so chuffed!!!

All we have to do now is sell the quaint cottage and secure a purchase - oh yeah and for this government stop wrecking our exchange rate recovery!!!!!

Gotta go now - bar is calling (yipppeeee!!!!)