CEM Corner: Training Requirements, Part 2

By Daryl Lee Spiewak, CEM, TEM, CFM, CEM® Commissioner and Past ASPEP President Emergency Action Coordinator, Brazos River Authority, Waco, TX

In Part 1 of this three-part series, I described the general training requirements of our certification program. In Part 2, I will discuss some specific tips to help you complete the disaster/emergency management section of the application packet.

Disaster/Emergency Management Training Defined. Disaster/emergency management training includes subjects that are directly applicable to the four phases of emergency management – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. They are not technician or operator courses such as HAZMAT technical courses and fire or EMS response courses. The type of training the CEM® Commissioners are looking for here is management courses that assist the emergency manager in performing his or her duties as a manager not as a responder.

100 Classroom Hours Required. To fulfill this portion of the training requirements, candidates must document successful completion of 100 classroom (contact) hours of disaster/emergency management training. There are a wide variety of training courses that are disaster/emergency management related. Your application packet has a sampling of subject matter that the CEM® Commissioners view as being under the disaster/emergency management heading. You will find a more complete list on the IAEM Web site.

If you are unsure about which category a specific topic not on the list belongs to, contact IAEM Headquarters at 703-538-1795 or iaem@aol.com, and we will make a decision and update the list on the Web site.

25 Hours Per Subject Area. This is a key area and one that causes delays in receiving certification, so I am going to say it again. A candidate can only receive credit for a maximum of 25 hours in any one subject or content area. As an example, the candidate attended three different exercise courses for a total of 64 hours. Only 25 hours in exercise training will be allowed for credit. Therefore, to fulfill the training requirements, the candidate will have to successfully complete a minimum of four different subject area courses in both sections.

Special Consideration for an Emergency Management Degree. A candidate who has received a baccalaureate degree in emergency management may have to document less than 100 hours of disaster/emergency management training. The number of disaster/emergency management training hours depends on the date the degree was earned and the date the application was submitted. A chart depicting the number of hours required is located in your application packet in the section on Training Hours.

Training Forms. Make sure you use the applicable training forms to document your accomplishments. Complete one Training Submission Form for each training class, and include a copy of your completion certificates. Attach the certificate to the appropriate Training Submission Form to make it easier for the CEM® Commissioners to find them. Duplicate the forms as necessary to fulfill your training requirement needs.

Other Tips . Some candidates include a few additional training hours and more than four categories in order to ensure that they completely satisfy the requirements. While this is not necessary, it will help speed up your application process if the CEM® Commissioners disallow a particular training course and/or category.

A Final Reminder . Before submitting your application packet, check one more time to ensure that you have properly documented the minimum required training hours and that you count no more than 25 hours in any one training category. Ensure that you completed the proper forms and that you have copies of the training completion certificates attached.

January 2002, IAEM Bulletin