APPENDIX A

RETAINED TRAINING HOURS REQUIRED

FOR RETAINED PERSONNEL

In principle there are two areas of training and development we provide contained within IPDS.

1. Formal Arranged Training - provided by a training provider either internal or external.

This training is not carried out on the person’s own station.

This training is sponsored by either the individuals needs (PDR) or the organisations needs.

Examples - Recruit training

- BA training

- Management training

- Incident Command training

- Driver training

- Community Safety training

This training is Budgeted for by the Training Needs Analysis

2. Fire Station Training - provided by Brigade Trainers either from Brigade Training

Centre or by Station Officers.

This training is based in a fire station ground. Furthermore, it is at present restricted to the 2 hours drill night (with a few rare exceptions).

This training is sponsored by either the individuals needs (PDR) or the team needs.

Examples - Core skills

- Competence

- Specialist R.T.A., C.C.B.R.N

- Special appliances

These can be practical or lecture sessions.

This training is Budgeted for by Drill Night Salaries

Running a Retained Fire Station

The station management revolves around the station drill night. When all available firefighters attend.

The drill night for decades has been for “drills” (training) and used for learning new skills, developing those skills and knowledge, proving the team were capable in their job and refreshing and practising their knowledge and skills.

For those same decades the drill night has been 2 hours.

Over this period there have been more demands placed on the retained station. We carry much more wide and varied equipment on our “standard” (normal) fire engine all of which when needed have to be handled with speed, effectiveness and safety. More equipment also means more care, maintenance and testing.

The administrative systems have increased vastly.

We didn’t have individual training action plans and training action records 5 years ago. Risk assessments have to be introduced which we did not need to do years ago. Meeting the National Vocational Standards and the new competency regime is adding more administration.

Time allocated for health and fitness should be introduced.

Personal Development Reviews are being introduced to the service these will need the appropriate time allocated.

Increased communications by way of training notes, admin memorandums, routine notices, visits by supervisory officers add to the strain on time.

There are budgets for admin and maintenance but there is so much that the budgets fall far short and then some of the work has to be done on the drill night.

Out of the original 2 hours drill night there used to be approximately 15 minutes of communication and managerial issues it is now nearer 60 minutes.

The original 2 hour drill night has to be restored that is the professional view of the firefighters and the officers.

The standards of performance need to be enhanced by the IPDS, the risks of not doing so are too high.

Retained Fire Fighter Training on Drill Nights

Table 1 is printed twice for the financial years 2005-6 and 2006-7, and shows the breakdown of the additional training hours required for each year. This totals 10,290 hours in 2005-6, rising to 11,666 hours in 2006-7 with the introduction of physical training. This contrasts with the 8,084 hours, which would be available from the extra hour on 47 drill nights.

Table 2 shows how many drill nights are lost and how the effective number of drill nights remaining for core competency training is reduced to 37.4 per year. This alone leaves a deficiency of the equivalent of 5.6 drill nights or 1,686 hours.

Table 3 shows how the minimum of 43 Drill nights are utilised in maintaining core competency, and the list of Core Skills Training is the minimum required to maintain the efficiency and safety of retained fire fighters.

Table 4 is a breakdown of the time required, in addition to normal drill nights, to maintain competency on Specials with adequate cover.

Table 5 shows the training required, in addition to Drill Nights, to maintain minimum cover for each station and has to be kept separate to avoid disruption to core competency training.