Creating Career Instructors for Students Interested in Public Safety Telecommunications
The Career Instructor Program (CIP) is an APCO International initiative offered through the APCO Institute designed to address the nationwide staffing shortages facing emergency communication centers. A key element of CIP is the creation of a pathway for individuals who are state or locally-certified to teach secondary or post-secondary students the APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator 1, 7th Edition course.
Introducing Our Student Recruitment Toolkit
Over the last several years, APCO has offered several new resources and programs to help emergency communications centers (ECCs) face their staffing and retention challenges. This Student Recruitment Toolkit collects new and existing resources for use by ECCs interested in recruiting directly from local secondary and post-secondary schools.
APCO Project RETAINS
APCO Project RETAINS (Responsive Efforts To Address Integral Needs in Staffing) provides managers with tools and strategies to increase the effectiveness of their own management practices, thereby improving staffing, retention and employee satisfaction in emergency communications centers throughout the country.
Project RETAINS has two complementary parts – the study of ECC directors and employees and the RETAINS Toolkit 3.0.
Resources About Staffing Shortages
Emergency communications centers (ECCs) being short staffed is a growing issue in the industry. Not only does this negatively impact 9-1-1 services and the communities you serve, but it’s impacting your mental health. Telecommunicators are overworked — this was a problem before the pandemic and now illness and quarantine within ECCs have amplified the issue. This collection of APCO resources can help ECCs identify the causes of and address staffing shortages.
