The SERESA Communications Training Program was implemented in June of 2011 with the goal being to produce competent and professional dispatchers who will be an asset to the communication center and the public service agencies and communities that are served. The profession of the 911 Dispatcher has changed over the past several years and will continue to progress in the future. This training program has been adapted and modified from various training programs with the primary focus being to create a training process that will allow the 911 Dispatcher to flourish in the profession.
The SERESA Communications Training Program consists of an Orientation Phase, Call Taking/Lein Phase, Police/Fire/EMS Dispatching Phase and concludes with a Shadow Phase. The goal of this process is to have it completed within 4 months. During the initial orientation phase a test will be given to the trainee that identifies their learning style. Also during this time there will be a collaborative meeting between the trainee, Communication Training Officer (CTO) and CTO Supervisor to determine what skills and knowledge the trainee may already have. As the trainee moves through the program, in addition to learning and practicing necessary skills, the CTO will present increasingly complex problems for the trainee to work through, using a process called Problem Based Learning Exercise. (PBLE)
Both the trainee and the CTO will journal their work on a daily basis. At the end of each shift a daily shift briefing will be held between the trainee and CTO to go over the day’s events and training. At the end of each week, the CTO and the trainee will meet and discuss the past week’s work comparing notes, seeing what went well and what areas need further work. If needed, the CTO and trainee together in a formal Weekly Report will document the results of this meeting. Every other week, the CTO Supervisor will join the meeting. At the end of each phase a Shadow Phase Recommendation Report (SPRR) will be completed by the CTO and forwarded to the CTO Supervisor for review and approval. If approved, the trainee will move on to the Shadow Phase. At the end of the Call Taking Phase there will be a 7 day shadow phase. At the end of the Police/Fire/EMS Dispatching Phase there will be an 8 day shadow phase. After the end of each shadow phase a Shadow Phase End Report (SPER) shall be completed by the CTO advising if the trainee is to move on to the next phase or be considered for release from the training program.
The SERESA Training Program is designed to individualize to the progress of each trainee. A Trainee with prior experience or exceptional skills may move more rapidly than a trainee with little or no past experience. The overall structure of the program will remain fixed but the content will be under constant development and updating and the pace will adapt to the individual capabilities of each trainee.