JOIFF and the importance of Competency based training
Published: 01 September, 2006
A definition of a competent person is someone who “having regard to the task that he or she is required to perform, and taking account of the size and/or hazards of the undertaking or establishment in which he or she undertakes work, he or she possesses sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken.”
This definition is one of the most comprehensive definitions of a competent person because it includes not only quantitative elements:
* “Having regard to the task that he or she is required to perform; and
* Taking account of the size and/or hazards of the undertaking or establishment in which he or she undertakes work,” but also qualitative elements:
“He or she possesses sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken.”
From the perspective of employment, this firmly links competence to job role.
Competencency-based training
Training for competence is a systematic method of managing and organising the development, delivery and evaluation of all training.
It is based on the actual structure of work which defines what people need to be able to do competently at their workplace and to what standards they should do it. It builds in measurement of ability to do the job with clear goals for all by establishing training objectives which are relevant to the role.
Key to a system of competency-based performance is continuous assessment and verification of the person that he or she is competent to effectively do the job to which he or she is assigned. Any system of competency-based training must also include audited records that keep track of progress and highlight areas of the job role that need to be addressed i.e. training needs analysis.
The learning cycle of competency-based training is:
* Acquisition, i.e. teaching people skills and knowledge;
* Application, i.e. ‘on-the-job’ training;
* Maintenance, i.e. ensuring that Competencies achieved are retained at the required levels and
* Assessment, i.e. continually measuring the acquisition, application and maintenance of the knowledge, skills, attitude and understanding.
Development from JOIFF
The JOIFF Training Standards Committee has developed a competency-based personal development programme for emergency responders. New recruits should participate in a robust firefighting training course in a JOIFF-accredited Training Establishment and then return to their workplace where, over a period of approximately 12 months, they participate in a structured onsite training programme which covers the core skills of an emergency responder.
This programme is accredited by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) and students who become student members of the IFE will automatically pass the IFE preliminary certificate examination on satisfactory assessment and verification of the completed JOIFF Occupational Firefighter Programme.
The JOIFF accredited personal development programme is based on a mixture of site-specific and non site-specific training building on core content to address particular issues.
As someone’s career develops under a programme of assessment and verification, students can progress to achieve the qualifications of firefighter technician, graduate of the IFE and then take on the range of vocational qualifications which are UK National Occupational Standards for the fire sector and which have equivalence in the national qualifications structures of many countries worldwide.
National Occupational Standards (NOS) are agreed standards of competence which define what is expected of each person in their work and how well they need to do it. They define the outcomes and expectations of workplace performance through performance criteria and consist of an accredited structure of units and elements describing the standard of role-relevant performance identified through a comprehensive role-mapping process.
NOSs in the Fire Sector in the UK are under the auspices of the Fire, Rescue and Safety Vocational Qualifications Group (FRSVSG) and include ‘Operations in the Community’, ‘Watch Management’, ‘Control Operations’, ‘Fire Safety’ and ‘Fire Investigation’. They have been developed under a system which addresses:
*Task Skills - the routine and largely technical parts of the work;
*Task Management Skills - how to manage a group of tasks and prioritise between them
*Contingency Management Skills - the skills to recognise and deal with things that go wrong and with the unexpected and
*Role / Job Environment Skills - ensuring safety, interacting with people and the ability to cope with the environment and factors required in fulfilling the wider role.
National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are a system of assessing competence in the workplace normally based on NOSs and are qualifications that fit into a national framework of competency-based qualifications. This provides a single, coherent, more easily understood qualifications system for all levels of education and training. UK NVQs are widely accepted throughout the world through mutual recognition of each country’s National Qualifications Framework.
There is great value in offering emergency responders national qualifications as part of the outcome of training although attainment of national qualifications should not take precedence over the development of a robust training and development programme for emergency services personnel.
National qualifications that are recognised internationally not only set universal benchmarks of achievement and recognition but increase the comparability of the learning achievements of learners with their peers internationally, so there is great benefit in considering NVQs as the way forward.
For companies, this demonstrates a commitment to effective business planning and organisational development.
Organisations must allocate sufficient resources to their emergency service personnel for effective training and under modern Human Resource practice, staff should be encouraged to follow professional career paths which includes continuous personal development. The training of emergency services personnel should follow a programme from the time a person is inducted into the Service allowing them to fully mature in their abilities, knowledge, skills and understanding.
For more information on the JOIFF Training Standard, see the JOIFF website at www.joiff.com or contact the JOIFF Secretariat, Fulcrum Consultants at fulcrum.consult@iol.ie
Taking on JOIFF membership
JOIFF, the Organisation for Emergency Services Management, is a grouping of organisations represented by their Hazard Manager - or equivalent position - and nominated Deputies.
Full Members of JOIFF are industrial/commercial organisations that have nominated personnel as a Hazard Management Team / Occupational Firefighters / Emergency Responders and Corporate Members are organisations which do not comply with the requirements of full membership but which nonetheless wish to associate with and support JOIFF.
JOIFF aims to fill the information vacuum that exists in the industries represented by its members, by sharing valuable information through its Shared Learning e-mail cascade amongst all its membership and to work to ensure that members benefit from the misfortunes of some to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated.
JOIFF provides a forum for discussion amongst peers, accreditation of job competencies, accredited training, information dissemination and technical advice. JOIFF welcomes interest from organisations who wish to become Members - e-mail JOIFF at joiff@iol.ie. Further details about JOIFF are available on the JOIFF website at www.joiff.com
