Context: Building on change
Building on a national system of standards and using new channels created by technology, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has developed an innovative approach to determining and meeting the needs of the individual learner. It has moved away from a traditional top-down training model, and uses a competency framework to encourage firefighters to take responsibility for their own learning. Requirements and opportunities are made explicit through the need to produce a personal development plan.
This shift in focus has been given impetus by a significant cultural change process that is taking place throughout the UK Fire and Rescue Service. A climate for change was created by a wide-ranging modernisation agenda which coincided with a period of industrial action, culminating in a review of pay structures. In England the Bain Report (2002) proposed that pay should be linked to demonstrated competence. Likewise, in Scotland, the Scottish Executive produced two important reports outlining their modernisation objectives. One of these reports, ‘The Scottish Fire Service of the Future’ emphasised the importance of firefighters taking responsibility for their own personal performance and development. It wholeheartedly endorsed the new national occupational standards (NOS), which had been produced for the fire service in the UK.
An integrated system
These standards, which were linked to the framework of National Vocational Qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications have formed the basis of a fire service Integrated Personnel Development System (IPDS). This system is designed to encompass the development needs of all fire service employees from entry level to the most senior positions. The IPDS allows for a more flexible, tailored approach to the delivery of development opportunities – supporting a move away from training as courses to developmental learning, based on demonstrating and maintaining competence. This is a far cry from the very traditional ‘train me’ culture that has been prevalent in the UK Fire Service for more than 50 years. This new approach has afforded the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service the opportunity to research alternative delivery methods, including the use of electronic media.
Bob Virtue, Director of Fire Service Training for Scotland, in his guidance circular, expressed the possibilities in the following terms: ‘Records must indicate where and how competence has been achieved, identify role related development needs and describe how these have been or will be satisfied. Recording systems that are non-bureaucratic save management time and encourage people to feel they ‘own’ their development.’
At the heart of the approach is an electronic browser-based personal development record (the system is called ‘PDRpro’). Each individual firefighter has a personal record which is embedded in the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the fire service.
At the recruitment stage the firefighter undertakes a selection assessment which involves aspects of these competency standards, other core skills and physical fitness. If successful, he or she then joins and spends twelve weeks on an initial foundation programme. The new firefighter is then assigned to a fire station and receives a development plan showing the competency standards to be developed. These are recorded electronically using the PDR system. Every fire station has a different risk profile, and the individual development priorities set out in the PDR must be adjusted and prioritised accordingly.
Progression in the fire-service is based on a movement from ‘under development’ to ‘competent’. Each starter in a new grade (there are seven grades in the structure extending from firefighter at the bottom to brigade manager) is considered ‘under development’. An essential part of their move to ‘competent’ is the recognition and demonstration of relevant skills and this recorded on the PDR system.
There is a strong link between the incident monitoring and recording system and the individual’s PDR. Each time a ‘watch’ at the fire station attends a significant incident they are obliged to conduct a debriefing to review how effectively the incident was handled. As part of this debriefing process the watch manager creates an incident record which identifies the list of competencies that would have been deployed in an incident of this nature, and also a list of equipment that may have been used. These are then transferred electronically to the individual records of all watch members who were involved. The firefighter must himself or herself personally tick the boxes indicating the competencies deployed or equipment used. This ensures that the PDR is linked to operational activity and is a live document, rather than a static electronic filing cabinet.
It is, of course, particularly important that the NOS competencies are kept up to date and reflect the operating realities of the modern Fire and Rescue Service. Firefighters themselves are increasingly playing a broader role. They are working in the community, co-operating with other agencies and doing more work on prevention. The first line management job, known as crew and watch management, is undergoing radical change. Job holders are encouraged to play a more managerial role at incidents and develop the skills required to conduct an effective debrief back at the station. At the time of writing in 2007 the first major updating of competencies since 2001 is in progress and will be conducted thereafter as an ongoing, rolling programme.
At the more macro level it is intended to review the relevance and use of the NOS framework and the IPDS/PDR approach and its value to the Service by establishing a strategic learning board. This body will monitor and consider the potential development to the system against a background of a range of innovative uses that have been suggested at various operational levels.
At present a number of features of electronic enablement are currently under development. The first is what is described as the individual’s matrix. This is a colour-coded display of the NOS competencies that are relevant to the individual in his or her role: green is ‘acquired’; amber is ‘working towards’ or ‘under-development’, red is no activity and grey is ‘non-applicable’. Potentially this technology offers an important operational application: when a green ‘acquired’ competency has not been used for some time it can ‘decay’ automatically to amber. This system could be used to indicate a training or development need orto demonstrate competency and capability changes when a firefighter has returned from a formal training course.
The second feature is a list of learning modules which are linked to the competencies – some are self-contained e-learning modules, some are guidelines for self-study or instructor intervention. All the competencies are covered in one way or another. These modules taken together are branded as the Scottish Fire Services Learning Content Management System (LCMS). The availability of the self-contained e-learning modules, which can be accessed from home, represents a significant shift for the Service. In the past firefighters could have been uncertain where to access material or reluctant to admit to learning needs. 45 modules are available as guides for instructor intervention. All are designed specifically for Fire and Rescue Service use and cover technical issues (for example dealing with fires in silos) or managerial skills (where the unit has been tailored to reflect the challenge encountered and terminology used in the Service). The instructor intervention modules are designed to be available as an easy guide and download for use in short training session at a station. They all link back to the competencies and consist of an outline of training design, a presentation and some simulation material that can be used in exercises.
All the Fire Chiefs have committed to support the overall approach. By 2007 all the 4600 full-time firefighters across all of the eight Fire & Rescue Services in Scotland had personal records in place. The next stage is to apply the system to the part-time fire fighters. So far progress reactions to the system have been favourable.
In December 2006 a major agreement on career development was published as the “Career and Contribution Management framework”. This will introduce a system of assessment and development centres (ADCs) to determine progression. It also marks the introduction of twice-yearly performance reviews and also development reviews. One of the anticipated outputs of an ADC will be a development programme for those with the potential for promotion. This will be linked to agreed NOS competencies and the PDR process will remain at the heart of all the enhanced human resource development strategic interventions for the fire service.