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FEMA does NOT maintain an ICS instructor database, nor does it certify instructors. Contact your Emergency Management Agency for additional information on what is required in your area. Contact information for State or Territorial Emergency Management Agencies can be found at http://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-agencies.
FEMA does maintain an all-hazards position specific instructor database. FEMA Regional Training Managers, State Training Officers, Geographical Area Training Representatives, and Statewide Interoperability Coordinators, have been provided with access to the database and in order to confirm the qualification of instructors for position specific courses as needed. For questions regarding the all-hazards position specific instructor database, contact robert.ridgeway@fema.dhs.gov
Lead instructors must have sufficient experience in presenting all units of the course to be capable of last-minute substitution for unit instructors.Unit instructors must be experienced in the lesson content they are presenting.Adjunct instructors may provide limited instruction in specialized knowledge and skills at the discretion of the lead instructor. Adjunct instructors must be experienced, proficient, and knowledgeable of current issues in their field of expertise.
Instructors should have formal instructor training (NWCG Facilitative Instructor, M-410, EMI Master Trainer Program, Office for Domestic Preparedness Instructor Course or equivalent).All ICS training is coordinated by designated Training Officers within the various States, Tribes, Territories, and individual Federal agencies. Contact your Emergency Management Agency for additional information on how ICS training is coordinated in your area. Contact information for State or Territorial Emergency Management Agencies can be found at http://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-agencies.
ICS-300: Instructor Guidelines (in addition to the General ICS Instructor Guidelines)Successful completion of accredited ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, ICS-400, IS-700.A, and IS-800.B.Service in a mid-level incident management position within five years in real-world incidents, planned events, or accredited exercises. Recognized qualifications in techniques of instruction and adult education methodologies.ICS 400: Instructor Guidelines (in addition to the General ICS Instructor Guidelines)Successful completion of accredited ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, ICS-400, IS-700.A, and IS-800.B. Service in a mid-level emergency management and incident response position within five years in real-world incidents, planned events, or accredited exercises. Recognized qualifications in techniques of instruction and adult education methodologies.
Access is available through the "G" course website. This is a password protected site. The site address and password are provided by EMI to the designated State Training Officers and to Federal Agency training points of contact. They in turn will provide access to those personnel approved to provide instruction.
(Note: no password is required to access the ICS 402 course materials; however potential instructors will need to contact their State Training Officer or Federal Agency training POC to obtain the website address).
Certificates are issued by the Agency which provided the training. For ICS 100 and 200, there is an option to have students log into EMI's Independent Study website and complete the final exam. If successful, the student will receive a course certificate from EMI by email.
Using printed manuals is optional. Many agencies provide students with CD or DVD disks in lieu of printed manuals. For ICS 300 and 400, you may want to consider providing printed copies of some exercises materials and ICS forms. Please note that EMI does not provide printed materials for courses provided by other agencies.
FEMA does not certify personnel to instruct ICS courses. Instructor certifications are the responsibility of your home agency. Many States/Territories/Tribe/Federal Agencies require that their ICS instructors have completed the ICS 449 course in order to be certified, however, this is not an explicit requirement included in the NIMS Training Program.
The home agency should ensure that instructors meet, or exceed, the instructor qualifications contained in the NIMS Training program. States may have additional instructor requirements and qualifications that must be met in order to teach the ICS courses. Contact your Emergency Management Agency for additional information. Contact information for State or Territorial Emergency Management Agencies can be found at http://www.fema.gov/emergency-management-agencies.
The National Integration Center has published guidelines which require a minimum of 21 classroom hours when delivering the ICS 300 course. This would two 11.5 hour days, not including breaks and lunch which would add about an additional hour and a half. This time requirement does not include lunches and scheduled breaks. The requirement for ICS 400 is a minimum of 16 classroom hours, again not including breaks. Anyone submitting a two delivery may be asked to provide the agenda and documentation (ELOs) where time was different than the Plan of Instruction (POI)..
No. Both ICS 300 and 400 are delivered in a classroom only. These courses are not suitable for online training since they both require a high level of interaction among participants and completion of complex classroom activities in order to meet the training objectives.
EMI recognizes ICS 300/400 course completion certificates issued by States/Territories/Tribes/Federal Agencies.
Acceptance of training certificates between States or other entities is at the receiving State and/or jurisdiction's discretion. To avoid problems in the area of training and certification in the time of need, we encourage States and entities to incorporate training and certification requirements for responding agencies into their mutual aid agreements.
For detailed instructions on how to deliver an ICS 449 course in your State/Territory/Tribe/Federal Agency contact robert.patrick@fema.dhs.gov.
To teach the All-Hazards Position Specific command, general staff, and unit leader course, an instructor must be listed in the all-hazards position specific instructor database maintained by the Emergency Management Institute. An instructor must meet the Administrative Guidelines for the AH Position Specific Training Program and complete a train-the-trainer class for each course and/or section that he/she desires to teach. For questions regarding the all-hazards position specific instructor database, contact emi-nims-icstraining@fema.dhs.gov.
