The skills needed for modern firefighters has evolved significantly, with fighting fires and saving lives being only one part of a very demanding role. The need remains for them to use modern equipment to address the full range of emergencies they may face. Increasingly they are also required to effectively communicate with, engage and educate their community. Therefore, the requirements to be an effective modern firefighter are broad, yet specific, highlighting the need to have an effective recruitment strategy to support the identification of this talent.
Three Welsh Fire and Rescue Services collaborated with Business Psychology Consultants at a&dc to redesign their recruitment process in light of a large recruitment campaign for Wholetime Firefighters. They worked together to utilise a range of fair, objective and mobile optimised online tools to make the Services’ recruitment accessible to a broader population.