Re: HPDS

[Cat]

As some of you are aware, I am trying to get into a Fire Service as a Wholetime Firefighter.  It has recently been suggested to me to look into the High Potential Development Scheme (HPDS) which I believe is a pilot scheme run by some Fire Services. 

I am interested in people's views on the scheme generally and any information or advice you can provide would be gratefully received.  To give you a few questions to start off with:

Has anyone had come across this or know anything about it?  Does anyone know anybody on this scheme? What is involved in it?  Would I still be a Wholetime Ff afterwards or is it like the Police HPDS where you would be expected to become a manger?

Thanking you in advance.
Cat

[footieboy]

London do a graduate entry. They expect you to be a Station Manger within 7 years but you dont have to be. Some go through grad entry as they cant get through other route. They are soon to do a direct entry at SM level.

[Cat]

Thanks for the reply.  It does sound similar to the Police HPDS scheme where they expect you to be a manager then.

I take it you would still have to pass the same recruitment process for applying to be a Firefighter as you would still need to do the hands on and be able to do the job initially?

[wyngwili]

Considering LDN only took onboard twenty graduates I expect it was tougher.  All the info is on their site.

[Tom Sutton]

Check out http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Documents/HRE314.pdf and take a note of item 4. This would infer there is no HPDS available at the moment but maybe in the future.

They have been trying these ideas from the sixties with the accelerated promotion course and all have proved to be a disaster.

[Cat]

Thank you both for the advice.  The comments have not surprised me at all and is pretty much what I expected.  I think that to be a good manager in something like the fire service you need to be a good Ff first after all how can you manage people takling fires if you don't know the first thing about them (fires).

Back to the press ups!

[Midland Retty]

From what I understand the HPDS is aimed at existing Crew Commanders who want accelerated promotion to middle management

Im led to believe that this is being trialed in most brigades across the country - doesn't help those people who want to join the fire service though unfortuantely.

[Indiana]

Why only to Crew Commanders?

There may be Watch Managers and Firefighters who would benefit from the scheme.