Message from the Program Coordinator


	PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS MESSAGE FROM THE COORDINATOR

Tally Wade - Program Coordinator

How can you train people to become emergency services communicators? There is not just one set of steps on how to deal with an emergency situation; an in progress call; a lost or frightened child; a distraught parent. These are the types of situations that need calm expertise to guide the caller through a crisis. These situations are what communicators are expected to deal with on a daily basis. Simulating incidents in a safe, supportive training environment gives the future call taker the opportunity to make mistakes; to back up and try again; to use different techniques with the caller; to experience the adrenaline rush associated with an emergency call.

The Public Safety Communications Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University gives students that training opportunity during our eight-month full-time program. Our curriculum includes: Call Processing, Radio Communications, Emergency Planning, Human Behaviour I & II, Legal and Regulatory Influences, Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Communications and Practicum. Coupled with the theory and communication techniques, the students gain practical experience in our modern communications lab. Kwantlen Polytechnic University has developed realistic training simulations where students handle a variety of telephone calls in our lab, enter data into our Versadex and Intergraph CAD systems, and transmit radio calls from our dispatch consoles and portables. Our students experience realistic situations, and become familiar with a host of electronic devices that are used in modern communications centres. Everything is in place to give the look, sound and feel of a real communications centre.

This highly specialized training is of great benefit to students as they prepare for entry-level positions in police, fire and emergency medical call taking and dispatching, and related fields. Prospective employers hire employees armed with communications skills, honed by hours of simulated laboratory incidents and coupled with practicums completed within and to industry standards. A high percentage of Kwantlen graduates of the Public Safety Communications Program find employment in a number of areas in the communications field soon after graduation.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has developed a comprehensive training program for export locally, nationally and internationally. Our market grows as the benefits of extensive training are realized. The integrity of our program is maintained through close ties with the public safety communications industry. Kwantlen continues its commitment to "Answering the Call" with the introduction of on-line courses for upgrade training, curriculum for communication workshops and future plans for diploma and degree programs.

Welcome to our website! Let us show you what's new in the world of public safety communications!

For further information please contact me by phone at (604) 598-6118

Tally Wade, Public Safety Communications Program Coordinator
email: tally.wade@kwantlen.ca

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Last Communication with this Document January 2012