Continuing Education for Emergency Managers

Once you have completed all your basic training that is offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and your state, what do you do to continue to develop professionally? I'm betting most will say that you attend conferences and the rest of it is "experiential." This last one being you participate in exercises, try different things and see what works. As for conferences, many an experience emergency manager is found in the hallways during sessions networking with his or her counterparts — because the sessions are all "pretty basic" and "the things I know already."

I think that there is a place for continuing education in emergency management — especially for senior emergency managers who have been in the business for ten or more years. Earlier today I had a meeting with two people from University of Washington, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. They were inquiring about the type of training in continuing education that might be needed.

No surprise here, I shared about the need for emergency managers to have more knowledge about the application of new disruptive technologies to their professions. Drones, 3-D printing, self-driving cars, etc.

See below for two offerings they have available right now:

Pandemic Influenza and Workplace Preparedness

The one I am thinking is needed more of is this one: Emergency Safety Officer Training. You designate a safety officer, but what training has this person had as to their duties?

One last thing, they are looking for input as to the type of continuing education courses needed. Leave a comment on this blog post, and they will be watching for what you have to say.

Is there a different need for business continuity professionals who work for private companies?