Applications are now invited for individuals to join the Scottish Ambulance Service as a Qualified or Trainee Ambulance Care Assistant (ACA) at the following stations in the North Region:

• Aberdeen
• Peterhead – Part-time
• Golspie – Part-time
• Tain
• Lerwick
• Kirkwall – Part-time

It is expected that the start date for successful trainee applicants will be from January – April 2026, the start date for successful qualified applicants will be dependent on previous experience and will be agreed at the time of offer.

THE ROLE

As an ACA, you will be responsible for delivering high quality care and safe transportation for non-emergency patients from their homes to hospital and clinic appointments. This may involve a variety of shift times over 7 days and could involve working at other stations than your base station. The posts being recruited to are a mix of part time and full time.
You must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, be a team player and have the ability to deal with a range of people who are often at their most vulnerable. This is a really important role within the Service and offers a vital service to the people of Scotland.
The Training
If you are a Trainee you will be an employee of the Service from your start date and will be enrolled on our bespoke clinical and driving programme. The programme takes approximately 6 months, the initial four weeks of which will be carried out at one of the Service’s Regional Training Centres. After this time, you will progress to your allocated Ambulance Station.
Requirements for Qualified ACA will depend on previous experience.

IF YOU ARE SHORTLISTED YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO BRING COPIES AND ORIGINALS OF THE ABOVE DOCUMENTS TO YOUR FITNESS TEST/INTERVIEW.

Candidates will also be required to successfully complete the following selection elements;

• Occupational Fitness Test
• Competency and Values Based Interview
• Occupational Health Screening
• Satisfactory application to the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (Disclosure Scotland)
• Reference process

The starting salary for Trainee Ambulance Care Assistants is £22,673 pro rata per annum, rising to £28,011 pro rata, per annum on successful completion of the Service’s training programme. This will increase in increments to £30,230 pro rata, per annum.
If you are shortlisted you will be invited to attend a fitness test and interview.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.
Please note that The Scottish Ambulance Service is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a “regulated role”, your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society