The Jewel Foundation recently hosted a series of events with the Crown Prosecution Service to encourage people to apply for employment opportunities with the CPS and also raise awareness within the community about what they do.

The CPS is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. They provide legal advice to the police and other investigative agencies during the course of criminal investigations, to decide whether a suspect should face criminal charges following an investigation, and to conduct prosecutions both in the magistrates' courts and the Crown court.

 Mr Martin Goldman – Chief Crown Prosecutor in the North West was the keynote speaker. He spoke about his experience working for the CPS for the last 30 years, starting at entry level, and working his way up to his current position. The flexibility within the organisation, allowing for flexible hours and occasional working from home make it really simple for him to be manage such a senior role and have all time off required for Shabbos and Yomim Tovim.

The CPS manage 50,000 cases a year, requiring a vast amount of both legal and operational staff. They are scheduled to do a recruitment drive over the next few months, and are keen to get the community involved. There will be vacancies in a variety of areas, many of which do not require any qualifications. Their flexible arrangements mean that the jobs are accessible to everyone.

Gemma Rice the community engagement officer for the CPS explained the recruitment process in detail. Attendees partook in mock exercises that form part of the application process and engaged in a question and answer session.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a mock interview at the CPS offices in Manchester next week.

The event was arranged by Jewel, as part of the employment support services they offer, to the Manchester Jewish community.

As part of the new initiative to develop employment opportunities for the community, Jewel will be meeting with the Department for Education next, to discuss their employment opportunities, and how these can fit in with the requirements of the Community.