The types of training delivered by the Fire Service College and the Emergency Planning College reflect their differing but complementary missions. The Fire Service College focuses on specialist training at the operational (bronze), tactical (silver) and strategic (gold) levels, and over 90 per cent. of its students are from the fire and rescue service. As officers progress through the levels, they receive increasing exposure to multi-agency operations. In contrast, the Emergency Planning College’s courses bring together all the many services and organisations involved in multi-agency working at the strategic (gold) level in large-scale emergencies, including non-blue light scenarios such as influenza. As a result, fire and rescue service students comprise less than 10 per cent. of the Emergency Planning College’s intake.
In order to maximise the UK’s resilience to emergencies the Emergency Planning College and Fire Service College collaborate to ensure that their training programmes are consistent with their responsibilities, meet their respective customers’ requirements and achieve synergy. The overall co-ordination is effected through periodic meetings at senior and middle management levels of the major providers of multi-agency training, including the Fire Service and Emergency Planning Colleges and the National Policing Improvement Agency.