March 2007
Real World Training Using Real World System
The new Dispatcher’s Program from Georgian College offers professional and comprehensive training in all areas of call taking and dispatch for the full range of public safety agencies. With an impressive client list of public safety and government departments, Georgian’s program boasts experienced instructors and an emphasis on delivering hands-on training in realistic situations. As part of the approach of offering “real world” training and experience, Georgian required a commercially available dispatching system that reflected the needs of students and public safety agencies alike. Having heard and seen many good things about the Horizon EME, the college approached Symposium to form an educational partnership, thereby putting the EME at the center of the program’s curriculum.
Choosing the Horizon EME – Wide Use, Advanced Features, Flexibility
According Ron Welbourn, President of public safety training company Proven Ways and Director of the Georgian College program, the Horizon EME was an ideal fit: “Dispatching nowadays is all about using advanced technology to manage complex and time-critical situations. Symposium’s system is a great fit because it provides our students with the widest combination of benefits”. When asked what these were, he narrowed it down to three things – Wide Use, Advanced Features, and Flexibility: “Firstly, it’s a widely-deployed system, which in turn helps make our students more competitive in the workforce. Secondly, it has some of the most advanced features available anywhere, which provides students with the familiarity and confidence to get the most out of available technology. Thirdly, it can be easily configured to handle the needs of any client, thereby reflecting the broad scope of our program and helping us teach students how to wok well in multi-agency environments where interoperability is key.”
Symposium Clients Reap Benefits of New Program
Already some existing Symposium clients are reaping the benefits of the Georgian program, with several taking advantage of its recognized certification and professional structure to contract out training for new dispatchers and existing staff alike. As time goes on, these benefits are expected to increase as more applicants for new dispatching positions will come already trained and certified on the system, resulting in lower costs, quicker learning curve, and smoother and more efficient operations.
For its part, Symposium is pleased to be working in partnership with educators and public safety professionals to help advance knowledge and professionalism in the dispatching field. This in turn can only result in greater benefits to our clients, and by extension, the public that they serve and protect.
For more information, or for those interested in seeing the system in action, please contact Symposium by emailing us at info@symposiumtechnologies.com.
