Thanks Andy, you are absolutely right, firefighters and fire safety officers use the full range of key skills on a regular basis as in the examples you mention, and are often operating at a high level. The Government however, in their desire to raise the standards of the UK's workforce, are aiming to get as many people as possible to a minimum standard in these key skills (level 2 I believe - which is the equivalent of GCSE grade a-c). The initial test to find out what level our people are at isn't too difficult to achieve, there are a number of organisations that provide testing. I'm having difficulty in establishing how we would go about bringing people up to the required standard if needed (short of sending them off to college). It is a growing concern, as in my role I have to mark assessment papers of crew commanders going through the SMDP process and to be frank some of the levels of literacy, numeracy and communication are pretty appalling. Factors such as: the way in which initial testing is now carried out; the fact that narrative reports are the exception rather than the rule nowadays; and the removal of the statutory exams mean that we do have some people coming through the system who are at a pretty low level in the key skills areas. It is something that we need to address before it is too late, heaven forbid we should have our first illiterate cheif fire officer (brigade manager in new currency). Ok it may seem somewhat amusing but I do have a nagging concern.
