Developing fire professionals

摘要

Throughout this year FP&FEJ will run a series of 'spotlight' articles that focus on the education and professional development of a range of different fire professionals. Focusing attention on the professional development of those in the fire community is very timely, given the current environment of change. I recently attended a seminar where a speaker, talking about the speed of change in the world of education, began by saying that if anything he said was inaccurate, it would not matter because everything would have changed by the time he had finished speaking. Rapid change in the worlds of education and fire compounds the level of complexity for anyone setting out to plan their long-term career development. What knowledge skills and abilities will be required and how might they acquire and demonstrate their ability and achievements? The constantly changing needs of employers, coupled with the shifting sands of educational and developmental approaches, suggesrs a need for a clear view of the destination and a flexible plan to achieve the goal.