A new wholetime firefighter recruitment to Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service will open at 10am on Monday, with applications closing at midnight on Friday.

In recent weeks, three Facebook Live events have been held to encourage women and ethnic minorities to consider applying, in the hope of getting the best possible mix of people coming forward to be firefighters at the Service’s 13 wholetime fire stations.

Area Manager Seth Why said: “Nationally, the fire and rescue service is 95 per cent male and 96 per cent white, so we’ve been working hard to reach people who might otherwise not have considered us as an employer.

"When we appoint, it will be the best people for the job, so we want the strongest possible pool of applicants to choose from.”

The on-line application process involves several stages:

• Candidate registration and confirmation of eligibility

• Online tests

• Formal application

• Fitness testing, practical assessment, presentation and interview

• Eyesight test and medical

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be able to apply for the role of firefighter:

• Be over the age of 17 years and six months at the closing date for applications (must be 18 years or older at the point of employment);

• Have the right to work in the UK;

• Not have any unspent criminal convictions;

• Not have any court judgements outstanding against them;

• Hold a full valid UK driving licence; and

• Be confident in water.

Further information about the process, including the deadlines for each part of the on-line assessment element, can be found at www.dwfire.org.uk/recruitment-process

To make an on-line application, visit www.dwfire.org.uk/wholetime-recruitment between 10am on Monday, October 5 and midnight on Friday, October 9. No applications will be possible outside of this timeframe.