Looks like some clarification about the "10,000 hours of training" is needed. That is NOT the number of hours we spend IN training. That number is the time spent INSTRUCTING your first responders. It boils down to about 70 total days of training by 4 staff members who instruct at different times, not all at once. Courses of different lengths and class sizes gives each class a specific number of total hours per student per class of instruction delivered by SNCO EM staff members. Add the individual student hours spent with us, it is around 9,700. These are courses (Incident Command System aka ICS 300 and 400 and the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program aka HSEEP) are requirements of the students job description and/or grant requirements. In short, they are required to take the course for one reason or another. The State of Kansas has asked Emergency Management coordinators in each region and county to conduct this training. Doing this sets forth a few important things that we need to keep in mind: 1) It saves money! Agencies do not have to send employees out of the area or state to receive the required training taking their money with them. 2) It brings in money! Some students do travel to the area to attend the required courses we instruct. 3) It is organizationally efficient! Classes taught locally increases networking and early coordination between responding agencies. This leads directly to efficient use of resources and pre-planning. 4) It keeps agencies and responders proficient! Locally, it increases the level of expertise of all agencies involved. To include volunteer organizations. 5) It is required in many cases. Presidential Policy Directives 5 and 8 implements and outlines the training that all will be conducted in accordance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The training lesson plans are developed at a much higher level and we do not have the authorization to change the lesson plans shortening the classroom hours. The hours of training are in effect mandated for whatever class is delivered. 6) It helps in the National Response! Regardless of the agency (local, tribal, federal private industry , volunteer etc...) this is the way we do disaster response on a national level. So classes instructed here are nationally recognized and are part of the national credentialing system. This allows responders to cross jurisdictional boundaries and understand the management system and immediately be efficient; because, again, it is part of the National Incident Management System. Additionally, the 10,000 of training hours we have provided professional responders in the last year... does not include the training given to other volunteer organizations, community groups, stakeholders, or the preparedness and awareness presentations, exercises or any booth at a community event you may have seen us at. We are trying to reach you on an individual level! Our commitment to your preparedness and safety includes us being trained and individually prepared. As a staff of 4 full time and 3 intermittent (part time), we average about 20 days or 160 hours per person as students taking officially sanctioned classes to retain our Kansas Emergency Management certifications. The courses we take certify us as instructors so we can do numbers 1-6 above. That does not include courses we take on our own time in pursuit of higher education. All of those hours instructing, as students and interacting with you at a personal level are vital to the preparedness and awareness in helping our community stay safe, prepared, trained, protected. We are proud of our work! ~Your Shawnee County Emergency Management Staff
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 21:52:40 +0000
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