Review the National Professional Development Model hereor in the textbook (Figure 5.15 on page 119). How do the requirements for your department or one in your area compare to the model? Education and experience are both important; what improvements would you like to see in your department’s requirements? What is missing? Why?
ALSO PLEASE REPLY TO ANOTHER STUDENTS COMMENT BELOW
Ryan:
I have found that our local department has very similar development structure to the one in the example. Most at some point start as entry-level or a rookie, then through training, education, and experience qualify for promotion to move forward in their career. In my experience though I feel a lot of emphasis is put on education rather than experience which can lead to issues. This is an issue, I feel in most industries, not just the fire department. I especially have found this to be the case amongst leadership roles within an organization. Therefore, I would prefer to see more of a balance of all elements versus primarily education. There is a big difference between learning on the job or from a book, but both are important.