The Emergency Services College (ESC) provides vocational training on firefighters, sub-officers, fire officers and ERC (Emergency Response Centre) operators to supply labour for the rescue services and emergency response centres in Finland. In addition, the College provides preparedness training for disturbances in normal conditions and emergency conditions as well as for persons who are going abroad to work with international tasks related to rescue operations and civil crisis management. The College is supervised by the Ministry of the Interior.
Tailor-made Education and Training
In addition to training leading to a degree, the Emergency Services College offers a wide range of tailor-made education and training. The most important customers are the regional rescue services departments, the Emergency Centre Administration and the personnel working with different kinds of civil defence and preparedness tasks. We also arrange tailor-made education for people employed in the organizations of industry and trade.
The main objective of tailor-made education is to ensure that the organizations in the rescue field have access to the latest knowledge and best skills to guarantee the quality of their services.
Topics
- Accident Prevention
- Emergency Response
- Emergency medical care services
- Rescue operations
- Leadership in rescue operations
- Leadership, management and administration
- Preparedness
Training Ground
There is a large variety of simulators, training fields, classrooms and maintenance facilities at the 38-hectar-wide training ground. The students train in conditions similar to real emergencies, for example, to extinguish various kinds of fires, to carry out rescue assignments, prevent chemical accidents, driving emergency vehicles as well as giving first aid to injured or ill patients.
The RDI services unit of the College provides various testing and analysing services situated at the training ground. The training ground is also used by authorities for joint exercises of major accidents.
The training ground is designed and exercises are carried out in a way that minimizes the effects on the environment.
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI)
Research, Development and Innovation Unit of ESC is responsible for the coordination of research activities within Rescue Services in Finland. ESC RDI brings a strong and structured end-user view to projects, assisting in the domain analysis and supporting project activities by facilitating the dialogue between end-users, academia and industry.
Main research areas include:
- Accident prevention, risk management and emergency preparedness
- Process improvement of rescue services
- Development of methods of rescues services
- Practical field tests: product tests, demonstrations, experiments and fire tests.
Aim of RDI activities is to develop rescue services by producing input that can be used in enhancing practices, education and training and decision support.
Library and Information Services
The library at the Emergency Services College (The ESC Library) is a scientific and professional library focusing on the rescue field. It is the College library but it also functions as the central library of rescue services in Finland.