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SA emergency services to get $2.5m for online training

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bajdas:
From: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/emergency-services-25m-windfall/story-e6frea6u-1225939742939

SA emergency services to get $2.5m for online training

SOUTH Australian emergency services will receive $2.53 million to develop an online training package, the Government announced today.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited Aldgate Country Fire Service in the Adelaide Hills to make the announcement this morning.

Under the E-mergency Connect project, CFS and State Emergency Service workers will be able to access updated information, web conferencing, and online training courses remotely.

It is the first project of its kind in Australia for emergency services and is the first to receive Federal funding as part of the Government's $60 million Digital Regions Initiative.

bajdas:
From: http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/boost-for-south-australia-s-online-emergency-servi/

Boost for South Australia's online emergency services
Julia Gillard posted Sunday, 17 October 2010

Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced Federal Government funding for an online application to enhance training for country fire and emergency services volunteers in rural South Australia.

E-mergency Connect will receive $2.53 million and is the first project to be offered funding under round two of the Government’s $60 million Digital Regions Initiative.

The Initiative funds projects that change the way essential services are delivered to regional, rural and remote Australian communities using innovative solutions.

E-mergency Connect is a project being run by the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission and will significantly improve access to a range of online services, including e-learning, not previously available to the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) and State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers.

The project will also position the CFS and SES to maximise the advantages of the unprecedented communication opportunities that the National Broadband Network (NBN) will create. Ms Gillard said the NBN would change the way people live, work and receive training and E-mergency Connect was an example of what will be possible.

E-mergency Connect will enhance the delivery of training and reduce travel costs by providing more than 17,000 volunteers and retained fire fighters across regional SA with access to a new volunteer web portal offering a range of services.

With the NBN connecting high speed broadband to every Australian home, volunteer emergency service workers living in regional and rural Australia will be able to access high-bandwidth applications including digital collaboration facilities, interactive web conferencing and self-paced training courses, from the comfort of home.

This means they will have access to the latest training information whenever they need it, not just when they can travel to Adelaide for a refresher course. Volunteers will be better equipped to handle front line emergencies across the State.   

When completed, E-mergency Connect may be able to be expanded into other states and territories to enhance emergency services coordination. Information about the Digital Regions Initiative can be found online at: www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalregions

misterteddy:
online learning is only as good as the information that is put on it.

Don't think $2.5mil is going to come even close to a Learning Management System plus online course components other than at a very basic level (that are mostly run in Group now anyway - BFF1, GRN, etc)

bajdas:
In addition I have heard that 'first aid training' is out to tender at the moment for all services under SAFECOM.

I have done a refresher Senior First Aid previously, where half was done via on-line E-Learning which reduced the course attendance time by half.

Hopefully this would continue to all services.

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