Trainee Trading Standards Officer Career Grade - WMF2107e

Westmorland and Furness Council; England; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Westmorland and Furness Council as a Trainee Trading Standards Officer in an exciting apprenticeship funded by the government. You'll receive paid training while working to enforce laws regarding cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes, developing essential skills in consumer protection and compliance.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Enhanced annual leave allowance

Various perks and discounts

Qualifications

• Minimum of two A Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications.
• Five GCSEs at grade C / 4 or above, including Maths and English.
• Motivated with a genuine interest in consumer protection.

Responsibilities

• Enforce laws on illegal and underage sales.
• Support businesses to achieve compliance with regulations.
• Complete the Level 6 Trading Standards Professional Apprenticeship.

Skills

Strong ICT skills

Excel skills

Communication

Organisational skills

Education

A Levels (or equivalent Level 3 qualifications)

Five GCSEs at grade C / 4 or above

Job description

Kick-start your career in consumer protection, regulation and enforcement and make a real impact by joining us as a Trainee Trading Standards Officer.

The governmentis funding this exciting new apprenticeship to inspiretalented individuals to join the profession and train to become a Trading Standards Officer. You'll get paid to train while helping enforce important new laws on cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes—plus gain experience across a broad range of Trading Standards work.

When you pass the Apprenticeship and further associated professional qualifications, you will progress through the career grade to become a fully qualified Trading Standards Officer, where you can expect to earn a salary of more than £43,000.

What are each of the levels within the Career Grade?

Entry level:Trainee Trading Standards Officer (Entry Level) - Salary: Grade 7 - £27,711 to £28,624

The postholder will progress to the Intermediate level once they have passed the Level 6 Trading Standards Professional Apprenticeship (Tobacco and Vapes Legislation).

Intermediate level:Trainee Trading Standards Officer (Intermediate) - Salary: Grade 10 - £35,235 to £36,124

The postholder will be expected to enrol onto professional training to become a qualified Trading Standards Officer (Weights and Measures Unit and one another statutory specialist unit such as Feed or Food Standards listed in the CTSI Trading Standards Practitioner Diploma).

Final level:Trading Standards Officer - Salary: Grade 14 - £43,693 to £44,711

The postholder will progress to the Final level when they are fully qualified following the successful completion of their professional training, and when they meet the essential criteria in the Trading Standards Officer post specification.

About the apprenticeship

The apprenticeship is fully funded by the Department of Health and Social Care for a period of 4 years. You will focus on tackling illegal and underage sales as well as supporting businesses to achieve compliance across a vast range of tobacco and vapes regulations designed to protect consumers and in particular children, while at the same time, working to gain a Level 6 professional qualification, across all areas of Trading Standards activity.

The successful candidate will need to be in post no later than the start of September 2025 in order to join one of the apprenticeship cohorts at Credit Services Association (CSA).

What is Trading Standards?

Trading Standards is about keeping people safe and making sure businesses follow the rules. The service helps protect the public from unsafe products, scams, and dishonest traders. At the same time, it supports fair and legal businesses so they can grow and succeed. Officers in Trading Standards do lots of different things—like checking shops are not selling illegal or unsafe items, making sure food is labelled correctly, and helping stop fraud. They work with over 200 different laws that cover things like product safety, fair pricing, weights and measures, and protecting the environment.

To find out more about a career in Trading Standards, please also take a look at:

• the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’sApprenticeships in Trading Standardspage
• the CSA’sLevel 6 Trading Standards Professional Apprenticeship (Tobacco & Vapes legislation)information

Who we are looking for…

We’re looking for a motivated and adaptable individual with a genuine interest in consumer protection and fair trading. You should have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent Level 3 qualifications), along with five GCSEs at grade C / 4 or above, including Maths and English.

Strong ICT and Excel skills are essential, as well as the ability to quickly learn new systems. You’ll need to be organised, able to manage competing priorities, and work well as part of a team.

Excellent communication skills are key, as you'll be engaging with a range of people in different settings. A commitment to personal development is important, including completing the Level 6 Trading Standards Professional Apprenticeship (Tobacco and Vapes Legislation) and an additional specialist module aligned with service needs.

You must not currently be employed in Trading Standards, not already have or be part way through any Trading Standards qualifications and must not have achieved a Regulatory Compliance Officer apprenticeship.

What can we offer you!

Working at Westmorland and Furness Council you will receive a variety of benefits, including a competitive pension scheme, enhanced annual leave allowance and other various perks and discounts schemes. For more information about life at Westmorland and Furness Council and what we can offer you, please visit our Careers site -Our benefits | Careers

Would you like to find out more?

For further information about this Career Grade opportunity, such as responsibilities and essential criteria please view the below attachments:

Entry Level:Trainee Trading Standards Officer (Entry Level)

• Post Specification
• Role Profile

Intermediate Level:Trainee Trading Standards Officer (Intermediate)

• Post Specification
• Role Profile

Final Level:Trading Standards Officer

• Post Specification
• Role Profile

If you have any queries or would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, then please contact Catherine Hornby, Trading Standards Manager by email at [e-mail].

Application and Interview information

Closing date: 13 July 2025

To apply please click theApply Nowlink below.