The Chief Fire Officers Association

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CFOA believes that IPDS should be mainstreamed into the everyday activity of the Fire and Rescue Service and that there is a framework put in place involving all key stake holders to ensure IPDS continues to support the learning and development needs of FRS staff. It is also crucial that IPDS continues to evolve with sufficient flexibility to address differing needs and expectations of individual FRSs and their staff.

England

Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

• IPDS provides a structure, based on agreed standards of performance, within which organisations can identify, attract, assess and develop people to fulfil their current and future roles.  This framework is designed to support the needs of the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), the promotion of equality of opportunity for every person and a focus on improving the health and safety of staff.

• The CFOA HR Strategic Committee continue to monitor and review the implementation of IPDS to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of Fire and Rescue Services.

• CFOA has worked with the IPDS Project Board to publish a guidance manual to support the implementation of IPDS in FRSs. A task and finish group undertook a review of IPDS to ascertain what gaps remained within the framework, recognising that the IPDS project was to conclude on the 31st December 2007. The workstream has now produced an IPDS Code of Conduct document and CFOA have set up two task groups, made up of experienced practitioners, one of which is considering how assessment and development centres (ADC) could be further developed the other focussing on a post implementation review of National Firefighter Selection Tests.