DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International again announces the continuation of a series of symposia on APCO International’s Project RETAINS (Responsive Efforts to Address Integral Needs in Staffing). This one-day event will be held two more times in 2006 — first in Chicago, Ill. and then in Baltimore, Md.
The first in the series was held February 22 in Los Angeles, Calif. and hosted over 35 communications center managers, police and fire chiefs, and human resources personnel from all over the West Coast of the U.S.
“The APCO Project RETAINS Symposium included great material,” an attendee from the Los Angeles Symposium said. “Now we have something concrete to resolve the problems we have all been facing for a long time.”
The APCO International Project RETAINS tool kit is the product of the most extensive, in-depth research ever conducted of the issues impacting the recruitment, hiring, processing, training and retention of personnel in 9-1-1 public safety communications centers. The tools are designed to assist communications center managers, human resource and management and budget department personnel, police chiefs, sheriffs, fire chiefs and elected officials, in addressing the challenges associated with hiring and retaining qualified personnel for this vitally important position.
“APCO International’s Project RETAINS addresses one of the greatest issues facing our industry,” APCO International Acting First Vice President Chris Fischer said. “This symposium series will not only outline the results of the research, but will explain how it can be applied to public safety communications centers across the nation.”
The series continues in Chicago, Ill. on March 22. The final symposia will be held in Baltimore, Md. on April 20. Symposia attendees receive an APCO Project RETAINS Effective Practices Guide and CD, as well as a flyer listing all of the materials available electronically on the APCO Project RETAINS web page.
For more information, visit www.apcosymposia.org. For a complimentary press pass, contact Courtney McCarron at 202.833.9600 or mccarronc@apco911.org.
About APCO International
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.apcointl.org.