The CAPCOG Emergency Communications Division is launching an online training system to enhance emergency telecommunicators skills and professional knowledge throughout the region; its virtual courses will complement CAPCOG’s traditional classroom training catalog.
“Having online training courses gives CAPCOG the flexibility to focus its in-person training on more in-depth classroom style courses, such as Tactical Dispatch, 40-hour basic telecommunicator licensing, and the leadership courses we offer,” said Veronica Neal, CAPCOG 9-1-1 Training Coordinator. “We will even be able to send short training follow-ups or do pre-assessments for in-person courses.”
Featuring a suite of 1- to 4-hour courses that offer TCOLE continuing education credits, the online training platform allows public safety answering point (PSAP) staff to complete training as their schedule allows. This can be beneficial to nightshift emergency telecommunicators with low call volumes or short-staffed PSAPs that can’t send telecommunicators to in-person classes. PSAPs also can use the platform to create and disseminate their own training materials and send short-vignette training refreshers to telecommunicators. The platform can track all of an emergency telecommunicators completed training and has the capability to host standard operating procedure documents and other digital records.
CAPCOG has held two workshops for PSAP managers and training coordinators to familiarize themselves as platform administrators before their telecommunicators have access to the training tool. The platform is available to all PSAPs in the CAPCOG region, and CAPCOG will onboard PSAPs at their request. Round Rock is anticipated to be the first PSAP to institute using the system which should launch in January; other PSAPs should online by the end of March.
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