In 2017 a survey was conducted of CFA's Brigade Community Safety Coordinators. One of the main findings was the desire for more training opportunities in community engagement.
The second phase of "Building Capability in Community Engagement" training for CFA members, developed under the Victorian Government's Safer Together program, is currently hitting CFA members in a number of locations.
The sessions take place right across the state, in Geelong, Knox, Camperdown, Boronia, Horsham, Cragieburn, Ballarat, Mildura, Shepparton, Lilydale, Sale, Bairnsdale, Wodonga, Benalla and Eltham.
Together with DELWP, CFA is giving Community Engagement training to staff and volunteers who will benefit from it most: our people who are at the frontline, interacting and engaging with communities.
There are currently three levels of Community Engagement training available, to both staff and volunteers:
Level One - Basic Community Engagement – Engaging through Practice (one day workshop)
A one day session designed to give a foundation in from which to build skills in community engagement.
This is a highly interactive and practical workshop, with opportunities to share knowledge and ideas with other participants from other agencies. Suitable for those with little experience in community engagement.
Level Two - Community Development – Engaging through Relationships (one day workshop)
Ideally this training is for members who actively work with communities to support and develop their capability, capacity and resilience.
Like Level One, this session is a one day workshop that is interactive and participatory, with a number of practical activities. The workshop will focus topics such as understanding community dynamics, community-based emergency management and asset based approaches to community development.
Level Three - Creative Facilitation – Engaging through Facilitation (two day workshop)
This sessions suits experienced facilitators and engagement specialists looking to enhance their existing facilitation and engagement skills.
Focusing on community conversations, developing effective facilitation skills, and preparing and strength based questioning with supporting evidence and emergent outcomes are some of the topics covered in this two day workshop. If you regularly interact and engage with communities and want to build skills and confidence in engaging, this training is for you.
These training sessions are open to all CFA staff and volunteers.
For training session dates, or to register, click here.
