In January 2013, following the completion of the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ Professional Development Operating Model Review, the Professional Pathways Design and Implementation Project (PPDIP) commenced.

PPDIP’s key objective was to define a vision for the skills required to perform each rank, role or level across career and volunteer personnel, including:

• Integration across the functional groups
• Applicability to all staff and volunteers
• Visibility to all personnel
• Key leadership skills
• Clear incident management development.

PPDIP has clarified the essential skills and competencies to support a sustainable model for personnel to effectively and safely perform roles, providing:

• Personal development direction 
• Options for development 
• A framework of courses 
• The ability to accommodate volunteer group’s rules and regulations
• A revised training delivery model offering greater instructor flexibility aligned to national training standards.

A project operating model has subsequently been designed and implemented for:

• Technical training – a common approach with shared material, refresher training for critical skills, and pathways progression

• Leadership development – vocational and tertiary pathways for personnel aligned with roles, levels and ranks

• Incident management – pathways and training courses for each role, aligned to the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS)

• Voluntary qualifications – optional program allowing volunteers to attain a nationally recognised qualification.

This presentation will present valuable insights into the design and approach taken to achieve the project’s significant milestones to date, including:

• Development of the pathway’s framework for each role 
• Development and online publishing of 28 pathways accommodating over 28,000 volunteers
• Volunteer pathways implementation state-wide
• Mapping the future systems and technical platforms.

As PPDIP moves into the final 12 months of the project, attendees will also be informed of the project’s progress and how earlier learnings have influenced the project’s continuing work.