Illinois Professional Development Series (PDS)

Individuals enter the emergency management field with a variety of backgrounds and training which are often unrelated to the wide range of responsibilities to be fulfilled by today's emergency management professionals. Thus, seven on-line and six discussion-based classroom courses were developed. These courses, known as the Illinois Professional Development Series (IPDS), present a variety of subjects pertinent to the emergency management field. The discussion-based courses are designed to complement the on-line courses by: allowing the opportunity for the students to demonstrate competence in the skills that are discussed, promoting the ability to interact face-to-face with emergency management professionals from other jurisdictions at the local and state level, and allowing first responders from different disciplines the opportunity to develop a better understanding of what each one does individually so that hopefully they can work together more efficiently during future exercises and real events.

To receive the Illinois PDS Certificate, which is required for the IPEM application, all of the following courses must be completed:

• IS-120.a An Introduction to Exercises*
• IS-230.b Fundamentals of Emergency Management
• IS-235.a or .b Emergency Planning
• IS-240.a Leadership and Influence
• IS-241.a Decision Making and Problem Solving
• IS-242.a Effective Communication
• IS-244.a Developing and Managing Volunteers




*

Although IS-120.a is required to complete the Illinois PDS as it is a pre-requisite for HSEEP, it is not required to complete FEMA's on-line Professional Development Series (PDS). For those that choose to complete FEMA's on-line PDS, IS-139 is the only remaining requirement. Recent changes to FEMA's Professional Development Series IS-120.a, Introduction to Exercises, replaces IS-139, Exercise Design, as a FEMA PDS requirement. Students who wish to complete the FEMA PDS series using IS-139 as the required exercise course may do so until February 29, 2012. Up until that time either IS-120.a or IS-139 will be accepted for exercise course credit. Beginning March 1, 2012, all students wishing to complete the FEMA PDS series for a Certificate of Completion must take the IS-120.a as the required exercise course.

IEMA Classroom Training Courses

• Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation program (HSEEP) (Must be the 3 day version)**
• Principles of Emergency Management
• Emergency Planning
• Leadership and Influence
• Effective Communication
• Developing Volunteer Resources

**For individuals who have already completed the 2-day HSEEP course:

• You will need to register to attend a scheduled 3-day HSEEP class.
• You will need to contact your regional office to let them know you have registered but only need the 3rd day.
• Upon arrival, you will initial the sign-in sheet and the instructor makes a note on the sign-in sheets to identify which students were there for only the 3rd day.
• When the completed sign-in sheets are entered into the training database following the completion of the class, the individuals that only completed the 3rd day will be entered in as if they completed all 3 days. The 2-day HSEEP class that they had previously completed will be deleted from their transcript.

These courses may be taken in any order over an unspecified time. Persons completing both the online and classroom portions will be awarded the Illinois PDS certificate. This certificate, signed by the Governor of Illinois and the IEMA Director, will be awarded at the annual IEMA Conference. The Illinois PDS certificate is a requirement for those applying for the Illinois Professional Emergency Manager Program (IPEM).

In order to be considered for the Illinois PDS Certificate, individuals must fax the completed Illinois PDS Application to IEMA @ 217/557-1978 no later than August 1st.

If you want to learn more about the Training Program or are interested in attending a specific course, please contact the IEMA Regional Coordinator serving your county. Registration must be made in advance to attend any course. To check the status of your Illinois PDS, log on to our online registration and check your transcript.