Professional Development for the Fire and EMS Service
We are seeing a trend in the Massachusetts Fire Service that many Town and City Managers are unhappy with the candidate pool they are seeing for Chief Officers. In some cases, Assessment Centers are being cancelled because of a lack of “good” candidates and in others, Assessment Centers are being held with no qualified candidates emerging.
It is believed that the lack of a professional development plan or path in the fire service is to blame. After a very structured recruit training program firefighters and fire officers are left on their own to figure the best way to move up in rank within their department’s structure. Without a “road map” to follow we see an assortment of different tracks they follow. Some go heavy on the higher education side, others concentrate on training certificates and other just wait their turn.
A well designed professional development program within your department can address this problem. It has been proven by integrating a program with the proper mix of education, training, certification and experience your department will be able to develop the next generation of fire and chief officers.
Let us help you develop a plan for those coming up through the ranks to become qualified future leaders for your department when you need them, instead of hoping someone might be qualified.
We can come into your department and develop a unique professional development plan, design the appropriate matrix, and educate your men and women on how to successfully use the plan for future development.
