Agency Instructor Courses

APCO’s Agency Instructor Course offers agencies the chance to train staff members to serve as Agency Instructors able to teach specific APCO courses to others in the PSAP. Having Agency Instructors allows for a significant reduction in new-hire and in-service training and travel costs.

The first part of the Instructor Course will equip participants with the necessary skills to be informative and effective instructors. The second part will consist of a practical exercise and the discipline-specific training they need to be certified to teach one of the following APCO classes: Public Safety Telecommunicator; Communications Training Officer; Emergency Medical Dispatch; Fire Service Communications; and Law Enforcement Communications.

Participants should register for the discipline in which they’re seeking Instructor Certification. Students from all disciplines will be in the same class, but will receive instruction based on their specific disciplines.

General Instructor Topics

• Instructional Techniques
• Lesson Plans
• Design and Use of Instructional Media
• Simulation Design and Use
• Testing and Evaluation
• Liability in Training

Discipline Specific Topics

Participants Choose One Discipline

Communications Training Officer (CTO)

• Training Others to Train
• Building and Maintaining a Successful CTO System
• Comprehensive lesson plans for each module in the CTO Student Course
• CTO Student Manual

Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)

• Introduction to EMD
• Overview of the EMD Program
• Implementation Policies and Procedures
• Introduction to APCO EMD Guidecards
• EMD Student Manual

Law Enforcement Communications (LEC)

• Specific training on instructional techniques related to teaching the Law Enforcement Communications Course
• LEC Student Manual

Fire Service Communications (FSC)

• Comprehensive lesson plans for each training module in the Fire Service Communications course
• FSC Student Manual

Public Safety Telecommunicator (PST)

• Comprehensive lesson plans for each training module in the PST Student Course
• PST Student Manual

CDEs Earned: 40

PREREQUISITES

All Instructor candidates must have successfully completed the student course in the discipline in which they are seeking Instructor Certification (Public Safety Telecommunicator, Communications Training Officer, Fire Service Communications, Law Enforcement Communications, or Emergency Medical Dispatch).

All candidates must have a minimum of one year’s experience in an emergency communications center (ECC), telematics call center or 3-1-1 call center*

*Additional prerequisites may apply for EMD instructor candidates. Contact the APCO Institute for details.

RECERTIFICATION

APCO Institute certified agency instructors are required to recertify every two years. Complete information on the recertification process is provided at the conclusion of the APCO Instructor Course.