Do you have an enquiring and analytical approach combined with a practical, pragmatic and realistic nature?

Are you interested in law enforcement, investigating issues such as unfair and illegal clauses in business contracts, and seeking out those who are intent on flouting consumer protection laws? And do you have the skills to deal with a wide range of people, providing help to local businesses and the community? Then a career as a Fair Trading Officer with the Trading Standards Service could be for you.

Gareth graduated from University with a BSc Hons in Environmental Science, and then spent a year working as an operator with a local water company. He began looking for other jobs after deciding he wasn't enjoying the work.

“I saw the advert for this job in JOBSDAY and was attracted by the prospect of investigation work, dealing with the public and structured career development with opportunities to gain qualifications,” he explains. “The degree wasn’t necessary, but I think it helped to show that I would be capable of the job’s study requirements.”

Gareth started working as a Fair Trading Officer with Leicestershire Trading Standards.

TYPICAL DAY: “I find the job varies a lot from day to day. I am part of the Community Safety and Wellbeing team, but have been involved in work with several other teams too. “I have been given several of my own investigations to carry out, one involving unsafe candles on sale in the county, and I also assist enforcement officers in their investigations and inspections. “Investigations generally involve test purchasing products and taking them for analysis, speaking to complainants and taking witness statements from them, and interviewing traders suspected of committing an offence.

“There is a lot of work gathering evidence, and this can come from a wide variety of sources. “I was involved in a project where we posed as members of the public to hire vans and then took them for testing to see if they were roadworthy. “I am also involved in underage sales projects, using teenage volunteers to attempt to buy age restricted products. “One of my duties is to organise and carry out surveillance operations. This involves making sure all the relevant authorisations have been acquired, checking the address where the surveillance is to be carried out to see if it is practical, and then actually setting up the covert cameras and recording equipment at the desired time.” Additionally, Gareth works in the office, following-up inspection visits by inputting data on the databases, making checks on vehicles with the DVLA, checking addresses with the land registry, typing up statements and sending advice letters to traders. A lot of evidence gathering can be office-based, and everything has to be properly recorded and stored to protect the integrity of the evidence.

“It is important to be smart and professional as we deal with a wide variety of people, from teenage volunteers to angry traders,” says Gareth. Attention to detail, sound judgement, patience, resilience and diplomacy are also personal attributes required for the job.

You should be able to understand the practicalities of proposals for a business, absorb complex information, and keep up-to-date with technical and legislative changes. Good IT, written, and communication skills are also essential. “As we have access to a lot of sensitive and confidential information it is important to be trustworthy,” says Gareth. “It also helps to have good organisational skills as most of the time multiple tasks and different types of work are undertaken at the same time.”

To become a Fair Trading Officer, You need a have a minimum of 2 A levels or equivalent and 3 GCSEs (grade C or above) or equivalent which must include English, Mathematics and Physics or Integrated Science. “There is a vast amount to learn, practically and theoretically for the job,” explains Gareth.

“This can be anything from various investigation techniques and use of equipment, to learning and understanding the law relating to trading standard. However, there is a lot of support available from team leaders and colleagues.

The Diploma in Consumer and Trading Standards (DCATS), which I am working on, provides the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the law and to really develop your career.” As well as the diploma, Fair Trading Officers have to reach a set standard in a variety of competencies including use of specialist equipment, meeting deadlines, knowledge of legislation, databases, and taking statements.

A Fair Trading Officer earns between £16.9k - £18.4k a year. Once DCATS qualified, a Fair Trading Officer can become an Enforcement Officer.

“Getting out and about in the county meeting different traders and complainants and the large variety of work from day to day,” says Gareth. “Even routine inspections can have surprising results – you never know what you will find out in investigations.”

“The work can be very daunting and I sometimes feel quite nervous at first, but colleagues always help as much as they can.”

Leicestershire County Council Vacancies: www.leics.gov.uk/jobs

Trading Standards Institute: www.tsi.org.uk

Trading Standards Careers: www.tscareers.org.uk

Local Government Careers: www.lgcareers.com

I usually get to work early and like to spend 20 minutes before the working day begins by reading a book - there's no way of escaping them really…At 9:00 I look at the timetable to see what's scheduled. My first task of the day is to take down the posters and publicity that had promoted the previous day's event - 'Pirate Gold.'

The half-term event had been extremely successful, with over 40 mini-pirates (plus the odd parent-pirate) taking part in a story time and making their very own Captain's hat and Skull and Cross-Bone flags. Some needed help sticking their hats together but once the children showed them how it was done they soon got the hang of it.

Events such as these always prove to be very popular - the children love the stories (and the fact that one of the Librarians had a parrot on her shoulder!), not only does it get them thinking but it also really encourages their reading. The queue for the counter at the end of the event proved this as the children not only had their hands full with their pirate goodies but also with piles of books.

It's time for the next job of the day - creating some artwork for a display within the library. The current 'Myths and Legends' display is being replaced with one entitled 'Nature Observed', so I've been given the task of drawing a huge black beetle enlarged under a magnifying glass. After covering my hands/clothes/the table/the room in general with black pastel, the beetle is complete, but I wonder if he'll scare the children away. Although I'm fairly sure it'll take more than a beetle to scare a pirate (albeit one the same size as him) I decide to add a ladybird and butterfly, just to be on the safe side….

It's now time to go upstairs for a couple of hours on the counter. You never can tell how busy it's going to be or what you'll have to deal with so every day is different. There's a good mixture of both the regular borrowers (some who come in every day) and members of the public who have never stepped foot in a library before. I'm still surprised at how many new borrowers we join each day. Surely everyone in Wigston is a member by now? Apparently not.

It is busy on the counter now, and I make a few circuits of the library floor and shelve books (no need for the gym after work.) On the way a young boy asks me for 'Chicken, chips and peas.' I wonder for a moment if he's taken a wrong turn. The chip shop is on Leicester Road, after all. My confused expression must say it all as he informs me: "it's a book." Well, obviously.

Luckily, the library catalogue saves the day. After checking to see if we have a copy in stock I'm able to find it straight a way, I'm thankful when lunchtime arrives and I head for the staff room before I'm asked for 'Fish, Chips And A Battered Sausage.' (It's not a title… Is it?).

The afternoon is taken up unpacking 'the bins'. Fortunately this doesn't involve sorting out the rubbish but rather unpacking the books and other items that have been sent on from other libraries. There's at least five boxes which need sorting into three sections: 1) items returned to us 2) items that have been requested by our borrowers and 3) items which stay with us for six months before either moving on to another site (on rota) or are staying with us. I manage to get through it all and take the overflowing trolley upstairs for it to be shelved whilst the requested books are put under the counter on the 'reservation shelf'.

After that it's more 'Bin' duty, only this time I'm packing items to be sent on to other sites - mainly books that have been requested for their borrowers. I get through the list of libraries (it being Wednesday there are ten on the delivery route) and leave the boxes in the loading bay for the van driver to collect.

The day ends as I sort through the post. The pile turns out to be mainly request cards, which need sending to our borrowers to tell them that their item is available for collection. I make sure they're all stamped and then head for the Post Office. When I return I go back upstairs and give the children's area a quick tidy, though I know it'll only remain that way for an hour or so. Those pirates are bound to be back tomorrow.

Take a leaf out of Anna’s book If it’s a while since you visited a library, you may assume librarians are obsessed with orderliness and prolonged silence. However, meet Anna, library development worker at Lutterworth Library, and – though far from being disorganised and noisy – that myth is dispelled in an instant.

Anna took on the new role, introduced by the county council, over a year ago and says the job is anything but quiet.

As a library development worker, it’s Anna’s primary role to get as many people to use the library service as possible. This involves talking to people of all ages and backgrounds within the Lutterworth and Broughton Astley area.

Anna works full-time. This includes Saturdays once a month, a late night once a fortnight and sometimes visits to various groups in the evenings, although this generally means a later start that day. “It’s all about being a bit more proactive, rather than just sitting in the library and waiting for people to come in to us. I find myself going out to at least one organisation a week and I do a lot of work in schools, which involves talking about the service and maybe reading to the children as well. I also organise a lot of events in the library and run them. There are so many – a children’s reading session once a fortnight for pre-school children, half-term activities, a coffee morning, a reading group for anyone of any age, and then there are the national campaigns which we get involved with. It was Adult Learners’ Week recently, so we had an organic shopkeeper come in with samples to teach everyone about organic food. I also help to teach people to use our computers and run internet taster sessions". Anna also goes out and about in the local area, visiting schools, nurseries and other groups to talk to them about the library service. She explained: “There will be a new library in Broughton Astley next year, so I am going to talk to the Girls’ Brigade to find out what they want from the new library.

“I will also be liaising with older members of the community about what their needs are. As far as admin goes, I have to collect statistics on the events that we do and send out termly newsletters to schools, nurseries and other community groups, and then I deal with all the feedback.”

With a degree in Information Studies from University, Anna originally intended to use her skills in the commercial sector but after landing a job at her local library, she decided to stick with the library service. From there, she moved to another library to start her training, while also qualifying as a chartered librarian with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). This involved training for a year and then writing a report, marked by the CILIP. Anna continued in her role as a librarian for almost two years, before being offered the position of library development worker. Anna says that although it’s not necessary to have a degree in Information Studies, it is a requirement to have a degree or equivalent to work for the county’s library service.

Anna says that her job involves different people of all ages, so it’s essential to be personable and a good communicator. A passion for books also makes it easier to be enthusiastic about the library service. Because of all the events Anna runs, she says it’s essential to be a good planner and to be organised. “You have to be able to follow an idea through from the initial thought, right through to the feedback at the end.”

“I love meeting different people and talking to them. Although this role is relatively new, it has already had a good effect. Visitor figures seem to be going up more and more and we are noticing new faces. “This job is anything but quiet. Before I started the job, I didn’t think I would like it because I thought it would be to quiet. It’s not about sitting behind a desk.” She adds: “For me, the best thing is working with children and families and getting involved with learning activities. We had one event for families which was attended by 280 people and I loved it. It gave me a real sense of achievement.”

“I can sometimes feel a bit isolated, as this job is all about me working on my own a lot. Everything is still a bit new and can be a bit daunting but, as my confidence builds, I am beginning to enjoy it more and more.”

SALARY: £20k - £23k p.a.

RELEVANT ORGANISATIONS: Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Log onto www.cilip.org.uk

CILIP publishes a magazine for librarians called Update.

Then read on to find out more about being a Learning Support Assistant...

Rebecca is currently working at a Primary School in Charnwood. She graduated from University in Ancient History and had been interested in getting into the teaching profession for teaching for a couple of years.

She explains: “I knew I liked working with kids and I wanted to do something I could use my university skills for. When I finished I was interested in gaining teaching experience and I wrote to various schools and came into this job about a year ago.”

JOB DESCRIPTION: A learning support assistant works under the direction of a teacher and does whatever is required of them on that particular day.

“My work varies from day to day,” says Rebecca. “I do tasks such as laminating, photocopying, helping in the classroom, numeracy and marking. I’ve also put my degree to good use by starting my own ancient history club.”

“The scale on which we work, ranges from working with a certain teacher, a particular child, a group or class – it depends on the role. There are a lot of different posts and the hours vary.”

Although Rebecca has an academic qualification this isn’t a pre-requisite for the job.

“It’s a profession that almost any one can do,” Rebecca adds.

To become a Learning Support Assistant applicants should have the ability to work with children in a learning environment and have a high standard of numeracy and literacy. Applicants should also have the ability to work as part of a team and have good interpersonal skills.

“Many Learning Support Assistants find the job rewarding in itself but if you are looking to progress, there is the opportunity to move on to teaching,” says Rebecca. “Speaking for myself, the experience I have as a Learning Support Assistant will help me cope when I take my Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) to become a teacher.”

A typical Learning Support Assistant can expect to earn between £12.5k and £13.5k per year, as well as being able to contribute to the Local Government Pension Scheme and work on a term time only basis. Flexible working practices are also adopted by schools with part time and job share positions regularly advertised.

“The most rewarding aspect of the job has to be when you can explain a subject to a child for the first time and they get excited and the light bulb goes on. I love being able to help children to understand new things,” Rebecca explains.

“Sometimes I want to help more than I do,” Says Rebecca. “It can be really difficult to explain certain things and it’s frustrating when I can’t always help them. But overall, it’s such a varied and exciting job that I can’t find any real faults with it.”

For more information please contact the Recruitment Strategy Team within the Education Department at Leicestershire County Council on (0116) 265 8057/6350 or e-mail teaching@leics.gov.uk. Vacancies can be found on this website or within the jobs section of the Leicester Mercury and other local press.