News
Rescue 3 (UK) Celebrates Outstanding First Year of University Partnership
A year on from announcing their partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Rescue 3 (UK) are proud to congratulate the first graduates from their Swiftwater and Rope Rescue Training Programme.
Since entering into partnership with UCLan last September nearly 300 students have attained university certification and higher education credits through the Rescue 3 (UK) programme. These students represent the full range of rescue organisations including 22 UK fire and rescue services, police and ambulance services, the RNLI and mountain rescue teams. In addition Rescue 3 (UK), in partnership with AS Training, has secured the Scottish Executive national contract to provide water rescue training for the Scottish Fire Service.
Paul O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Rescue 3 (UK) commented, ‘The Rescue 3 (UK) / UCLan partnership enables students to gain university certification as well as an internationally recognised qualification from Rescue 3 International. This means that students benefit from the world-class training facilities and instruction provided by Rescue 3 (UK) whilst accessing higher education accreditation which benefits their professional development.’
The partnership has seen major investments from both organisations, which has allowed the development of new courses, such as the Management of Water and Flood Incidents, and the appointment of a joint lecturer position to oversee the programme.
Currently eight Rescue 3 (UK) training courses have been validated by UCLan, offering a total of 200 higher education credits. These courses include Rescue 3 (UK)’s Technician and Instructor training courses in Swiftwater and Flood Rescue, Rope Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue Boat Operations, Management of Water and Flood Incidents and Professional Practice Portfolio.
Students attending the validated courses can either graduate with a University Certificate or accumulate higher education credits and work towards the Advanced Certificate in Swiftwater Rescue Instruction or the Foundation Certificate in Swiftwater and Rope Rescue. Students with existing Rescue 3 qualifications can also access the programme through an ‘accredited prior learning’ (APL) scheme.
Rescue 3 (UK) would like to congratulate all their students who have graduated this year and look forward to welcoming their new students for the next academic year.
For more information on this programme contact Vicky Barlow, Lecturer in Swiftwater and Rope Rescue, via e-mail - VBarlow@uclan.ac.uk or phone – 01678 521083 ext 5, 07800 848510
SRT Advanced Instructor Course
Rescue 3 (UK) has scheduled a SRT Advanced Instructor course for the 15-19 December 2008.
Anyone wishing to attend this course must have the following pre-requisites:
- Have been an active SRT 1/Unit 1 Instructor for at least 1 year
- Hold a current EMT/Advanced First Aid Certificate
- Have attended two SRT Advanced Classes as a student
For more information about this course, contact Rescue 3(UK). Places are limited.
Rescue 3 (UK) present at Floodfighters 2007
Rescue 3 (UK) recently delivered a Flood Management workshop at ‘Floodfighters 2007’, a prestigious international conference on behalf of the Chief Fire Officers Association organised by Lane, Jefferies and Associates Ltd and Crisis Response Journal.
The one day workshop was over subscribed with 145 delegates in attendance from as far away as New Zealand and Australia. Paul O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Rescue 3 (UK), presented the workshop along with Rodney Sebregts from Rescue 3 (Benelux), Martin Bills from Nottinghamshire F&RS and Martin Blunden from Hereford & Worcester F&RS. The workshop was designed to provide the underpinning knowledge needed by incident managers so they can respond safely and efficiently to flood and water rescues.
I addition to this workshop Paul O’Sullivan spoke at the main conference. In a presentation entitled ‘Training for Flood Rescue – Ensuring it is Fit for Purpose’, Paul outlined his thoughts on ensuring a common approach and quality in the provision of training in this area.
Rescue 3 (UK) on the BBC!
Earlier in 2007 Rescue 3 (UK) were proud to welcome the BBC Countryfile crew to their training centre, in North Wales. The crew were on-site to film a feature on Rescue 3 (UK) to highlight the facilities at their training centre and the importance of the training they deliver in light of the recent summer floods.
Three of Rescue 3 (UK)’s Instructors were involved in the filming, Paul O’Sullivan, Paul Jones and Matt McLay. As well as providing demonstrations of basic rescue techniques, including use of an inflated fire hose, they also instructed one of the presenters, Adam Henson, in basic swiftwater swimming techniques. An exercise which led him to comment ‘The water is a lot stronger than it looked’.
The episode was aired in June 2007.
University recognition for Rescue 3 (UK)
Rescue 3 (UK), the country’s leading provider of swiftwater and flood rescue training, has recently entered into partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). This means that students will now be able to obtain university certification in addition to the internationally recognised qualification from Rescue 3 International. Furthermore, the partnership is also offering a part-time modular Foundation Certificate in Swiftwater and Rope Rescue.
These new awards provide a route into Higher Education through vocational training and combine web-based learning with practical delivery at Rescue 3 (UK)’s world-class training centre. Currently eight Rescue 3 (UK) training courses have been validated by UCLan, offering a total of 200 Higher Education credits. These courses include Rescue 3 (UK)’s Technician and Instructor training courses, in Swiftwater and Flood rescue, Rope Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue Boat Operations, plus two new courses, Management of Water and Flood Incidents and Professional Practice Portfolio.
Paul O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Rescue 3 (UK) said, ‘This is a fantastic development for both Rescue 3 (UK) and UCLan which will allow students to receive academic qualifications whilst participating in internationally recognised technical training, thus linking their development as rescuers directly into their overall professional development path.’ Nigel Garratt, Senior Lecturer from UCLan commented, ‘This development shows the integration of vocational and academic learning and demonstrates the quality of provision by UCLan and Rescue 3 (UK). This combined provision shows the depth of partnership between the two institutions.’
Although the Foundation Certificate is a new development it is designed for current Rescue 3 students as well as for future students, with an ‘accredited prior learning’ scheme (APL), in place which facilitate the transfer of students existing Rescue 3 qualifications into the new scheme.
The new program will be available from autumn 2007 with enrolment on both the Foundation Certificate and University Certificates available throughout the year.
