Joining West Midlands Ambulance Service 'incredibly rewarding'

Chris Booker joined West Midlands Ambulance Service as a student paramedic in 2019

A former RAF officer who changed careers to retrain as a paramedic is encouraging others to consider joining the ambulance service.

Chris Booker, 49, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, joined West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) through its student paramedic programme in 2019.

He described his job as "incredibly rewarding" and different every day.

WMAS is looking to recruit more than 400 people for its student paramedic programme next year.

Applications for the 2024 training scheme are being accepted online until New Year's Day.

West Midlands Ambulance Service is looking to recruit a total of 424 student paramedics in 2024

Mr Booker said he was inspired to train as a student paramedic aged 44, after he decided he "needed a new challenge".

Becoming a paramedic had "been in the back of my mind for years," he explained.

After working in the RAF Regiment for eight years, he joined the civil service for 13 years, before he realised it was "time for a change".

"I reached a point where I was sat behind a computer and I couldn't face another 20 years of that," he said.

'Enjoyed the challenge'

Mr Booker, based at the WMAS hub in Lichfield, said the student paramedic programme was a "steep learning curve," as it had been "long time" since he was last in education.

"It took a bit of a while to get back into it," he said.

"The subject matter was brand new but I enjoyed the challenge."

He has advised others who want a change of career to consider applying.

"It's not just for university leavers," he said. "As an older recruit, [you] can bring things to the job that you can only bring with time and experience.

"It's physically, mentally [and] emotionally challenging, but it's incredibly rewarding.

"You can go home knowing you've made a real difference."