Fire Service College appoints Operations Director

Ceri Darrell | Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA) and the Fire Service College (FSC) are delighted to jointly announce that Andy Kettle of Hampshire FRS will be joining the  FSC Management Board as Operations Director (Assistant Chief Officer) with effect from 4th July 2011.  Andy will play a key role in shaping the future of the College in a direction which will best suit the needs of the fire and rescue service.

The appointment is made as the FSC is on the brink of a new, exciting era as it transitions from a Government Trading Fund into a potential new model as heralded by the Fire Minister in his response to Fire Futures.  Support from the College will be critical to the fire and rescue service as it undergoes a challenging period of reduced budgets, increasing threats/risks and an urgent need to standardise training to ensure the safety of the public and its fire fighters.

CFOA believes that the College has a key role to play in ensuring national standards of competence and interoperability in terms of operational activity and incident command. National standards enable the FRS to undertake a vital role in providing assurance for the critical national infrastructure of the UK.

Andy will be seconded to the FSC for two years and will report directly to the Chief Executive.  With 27 years' experience in the service and a graduate of the Executive Leadership Programme, Andy's role is to support the Chief Executive in ensuring that the training output of the FSC fully meets fire and rescue service requirements.  He will work closely with CFOA and individual FRSs to identify training requirements and to develop and deliver quality assured training in support of the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

The CFOA Board strongly endorse this key appointment having themselves played a key role in the selection for the post.  This joint selection activity demonstrates the FSC's strong commitment to serve the FRS.

The CFOA President, Peter Holland stated "CFOA's position on the Fire Service College has always been clear. We remain adamant that there is a role for a central training and development institution and that this should be the Fire Service College.  Andy Kettle's appointment from within the service to the Operations Director role at the College will only serve to strengthen the significance of the College to the fire and rescue service."

Kim Robinson, Chief Executive at the FSC, warmly welcomes Andy to the new leadership team and the renewed focus that this will bring to the needs of the Service.

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