Get Certified

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APCO Institute’s new Communications Training Officer (CTO) 6th Ed. course provides comprehensive training on the roles and responsibilities of CTOs in running an agency’s one-on-one training program. The course focuses on performance-based training and management and the need for standardized training with documentation.

This CTO 6th Ed. course includes the essential elements of a CTO program based on the industry recognized “San Jose Model” while also incorporating the requirements set by the national standard for CTO programs — APCO ANS 3.101.3-2017 Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Communications Training Officers.

In the PSAP, people are your most important resource. The NENA Center Training Officer (CTO) Program provides you with the proper framework to train your new employees, which leads to better performance and higher retention rates.

The course covers proper documentation of performance, evaluation of performance, setting milestones, and developing a plan for trainee success.  

This is a 3-day course.

EMD Mentors help others become proficient in the use of the MPDS®and guide them along the path to becoming a competent Emergency Medical Dispatcher™(EMD™). This course will help you develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and attributes necessary to be a successful EMD Mentor. Topics include: what it means to be a mentor, learning and motivation, providing feedback, telecommunication techniques, stress management techniques, ED-Q™ Performance Standards, Chief Complaint selection, and frequently asked questions associated with using the MPDS.

If you’re a telecommunicator who wants to take your skills – and career – to the next level, then the Excellence in Dispatch Certificate program is for you!  Go beyond the basics of what you learned in your entry-level training program and  gain the knowledge, tools, and resources you need to become a star performer.

Earning your certificate not only helps you excel under the headset but also empowers you to be a team leader and opens the door for long-term success in 9-1-1.

To earn your certificate, you must complete at least three of the five below courses within two years: •    Advanced Fire Dispatching

•    Advanced Police Dispatching  

•    Enhanced Caller Management

•    9-1-1 Customer Service: Takes Seconds, Saves Minutes

•     Preventing Telecommunicator Tunnel Vision  

The APCO Institute Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch course is designed for telecommunicators who want to enhance their knowledge, skills, and abilities so they can ultimately serve as a member of a tactical/incident dispatch team. The course uses scenarios and practical exercises to explore the issues involved in working major events and responding to major incidents. Class work focuses on sharpening the skills needed to fulfill the role and responsibilities for tactical dispatch.

Topics include:

• The big picture: ICS, the communications unit, and tactical dispatch
• Basic knowledge necessary for a tactical dispatcher
• How tactical dispatchers prepare
• Pre-deployment preparations: Situational information relevant to the assignment
• Focus on radio communication
• Deployment
• Telephone systems
• Incident types
• Ongoing and continuing education

The APCO Institute Communications Center Supervisor course is designed for prospective, new or experienced communications supervisors who want to enhance their supervisory skills and knowledge.

Class lecture is supplemented by practical exercises that help students apply the lessons to their own agency policies and procedures. Students not only learn supervisory topics, but also learn how to work together in groups and cooperate to attain common goals.

This course will give new supervisors the skills they need to succeed in their positions. It will give experienced supervisors updated, refreshed skills that will further their careers.

Using a combination of lecture and practical exercises, students will learn the supervisor’s role in HR, tools to get organized, how to effectively make the transition from line-level to supervisor, how to build and lead a team, supervisor-specific communications, conflict resolution, performance evaluations, stress management techniques, and many other skills, and tips for their toolbox.

This is a 3-day course.

APCO International’s Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) Program is designed for individuals interested in developing a solid foundation of management and supervisory skills necessary for successful PSAP operations.

In partnership with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch

The Communication Center Manager program provides a comprehensive foundation of management and leadership practices tailored to today’s communication center leaders. Experienced faculty and motivated participants come together for two dynamic weeks of education and training, with additional online coursework. Participants come away with skills they can put to use immediately in the communication center. They also create a lifelong network of peers from organizations representing a diverse range of communication center models, including both small and large, urban and rural, and law enforcement, fire and EMS.

NENA’s Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) is designed to equip recently-hired, newly-promoted, and aspiring PSAP and 9-1-1 Authority Managers and Supervisors with the tools needed to manage their agency effectively through a rigorous 40-hour course of lecture and lab-based education. For more seasoned 9-1-1 professionals, the CMCP may serve to fill in some of the gaps and strengthen core competencies required in emergency communications center management.

APCO’s Certified Public-Safety Executive (CPE) Program is designed to: Elevate professionalism, 

Enhance individual performance, and recognize excellence in the public safety communications industry.

Certification is a tool of a professional association to establish the benchmarks of performance that will signify a broad-based competence in the professional field.
By successfully completing your certification, you will:

• Demonstrate a mastery of the comprehensive knowledge base required for emergency number program management.
• Help to raise industry standards and increase the respect and prestige of those involved in 9-1-1.
• Confirm your commitment to the 9-1-1 profession by showing yourself to be a leader in public safety and pledging yourself to stay aware of current issues and developments in the field.