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Incident Command System courses

Learn about the Incident Command System (ICS), which supports the Alberta Incident Management System (AIMS).

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Incident management training

Overview

Incident Command System (ICS) supports Alberta’s prescribed command, control, and coordination system for use by local authorities and provincial incident management practitioners across the province.

ICS Canada recognizes the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) as the Provincial/Territorial Authority Having Jurisdiction (PTAHJ) for the Province of Alberta.

As the PTAHJ for Alberta, AEMA is responsible for:

  • Administering ICS course delivery
  • Training and approving of all ICS Canada instructors in Alberta, except for those training exclusively for Agency Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AAHJ)
  • Ensuring the training, curriculum, and instructor standards set by ICS Canada and/or AEMA are met or exceeded.
  • Providing a complaint and quality assurance program to monitor ICS Canada course delivery.
  • Assisting ministries, municipalities, emergency responders, and other organizations in applying ICS and/or improving exercise and training delivery and evaluation.

ICS training delivered by AEMA

The AEMA only delivers free ICS courses to members of its primary training audience.

AEMA’s primary training audience includes:

  • local authority employees designated with an emergency management role for their local authority under the Emergency Management Act, including volunteer firefighters
  • Government of Alberta employees with a role in emergency management, consequence management, or business continuity
  • non-government organizations (NGOs) who are members of the NGO Council of Alberta
  • volunteers with search and rescue teams (submit proof of membership)
  • members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police based in Alberta detachments
  • members of the Canadian Armed Forces (with proof of formation level approval) and based in Alberta only

The following do NOT qualify for free AEMA training:

  • anyone who lives outside of Alberta
  • non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are not members of the NGO Council of Alberta
  • private businesses, private industries or individuals unaffiliated with any government organization
  • Alberta advanced education students in emergency management programs
  • public sector employees who do not have a direct role in Alberta’s emergency management system

ICS training for other audiences

Only ICS Canada approved contractors, and educational institutes may provide ICS training to members of the public.

Only ICS Canada approved contractors may provide ICS training to industry or private organizations.

See ICS Canada contractors for a list of approved contract instructors.

ICS course descriptions

Prospective students for ICS courses in Alberta must provide proof of pre-requisite course completion to attend training delivered by approved instructors.

  • ICS I-100

    ICS I-100 is an awareness level training course. It is intended for all personnel assuming any position within an organization employing ICS. It introduces students to ICS and provides the foundation for higher level ICS learning including ICS principles, history, terminology and organizational structure.

    • No pre-requisites for ICSI-100. 
    • Students must attend the full course and achieve 80% on the open-book exam to receive a certificate of completion.

    The Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) offers this course in-class and online.

    • The facilitated in-class course takes  5+ hours to complete.
    • The self-directed online course takes  2 to 4 hours to complete.

  • ICS I-200

    ICS I-200 is an awareness level training course. It is intended for personnel who are likely to assume a supervisory ICS position and focuses on the management of single resources.

    • Students must successfully complete ICS I-100 before requesting to enrol in ICS 1-200. 
    • Students must attend the full course and achieve 80% on the open-book exam to receive a certificate of completion.

    AEMA offers this course in-class and online.

    • The facilitated in-class course takes  14+ hours to complete.
    • The self-directed online course takes  10 to 14 hours to complete.

    The online ICS I-200 course is not recognized by ICS Canada as it does not include the requisite group activities. If you intend to continue your ICS training to ICS I-300 and higher, you must complete ICS I-200 in-class.

  • ICS I-300

    ICS I-300 is an advanced level training course. It is intended for incident management personnel in supervisory roles and enables them to operate efficiently during a Type 3 incident or event where the situation covers multiple operational periods.

    • Students must successfully complete ICS I-200 in-class at least  5 months before requesting to enroll in ICS I-300.
      • The online ICS I-200 course is not recognized by ICS Canada as  it does not include the requisite group activities.
    • Students must attend the full course and achieve 80% on the open-book exam to receive a certificate of completion.

    AEMA offers this course in-class only.

    • The facilitated in-class course takes 17+ hours to complete.

  • ICS I-400

    ICS I-400 is an advanced level training course. It is intended for personnel serving as Command and General Staff in an ICS organization. It addresses command and general staff functions during complex incidents, and the implementation of ICS in a complex incident and multiple incidents.

    • Students must successfully complete ICS I-300 at least  5 months before requesting to enroll in ICS I-400.
    • Students must attend the full course and achieve 80% on the open-book exam to receive a certificate of completion.

    AEMA offers this course in-class only.

    • The facilitated in-class course takes  14+ hours to complete.

  • Position-specific ICS courses

    All position-specific ICS courses address the roles and responsibilities of a specific ICS position on a Type 3 All-Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT).

    • Students must successfully complete ICS I-300 before requesting to enroll in a position-specific ICS course (excluding Strike Team/Task Force).
    • Students must successfully complete ICS I-200 before requesting to enroll in a Strike Team/Task Force ICS course.
    • Students must attend the full course and achieve 70% on the closed-book exam within a 2-hour time limit.

    AEMA offers position-specific ICS courses in-class only.

    • The duration of position-specific training courses ranges from 12 to 26+ hours depending on the position.

Refer to the ICS Canada Curriculum and Training Standards for more information about the minimum required hours, learning objectives, and key ICS concepts for the specific course you are interested in.

How to enrol

Register for in-class training

  • Go to the AEMA Training Calendar to view upcoming course dates and find out what in-class training is currently being offered.
  • Check the event details for the course you are interested in and email or phone the contact for more information and to register.
  • Provide the instructor with your pre-requisite certificate(s) to register.

Register for online training

  • Send an email to [email protected] with details including the name of the online course(s) you need to take, pre-requisite certificates, and proof of affiliation.

Acceptable examples of proof of affiliation include:

  • sending an email directly from your official employer or organization’s email address, or
  • attaching an email/letter from your employer or organization proving your affiliation.

Please note that enrolment requests can take up to 5 business days to process.

Certificates and replacement certificates

Each ICS Canada course delivered in Alberta or British Columbia requires an approved course number on its completion certificates.

Changes to the Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation have no impact on the required training pre-requisites for ICS Canada courses or training progression parameters. ICS course pre-requisite policies are established and maintained by ICS Canada.

As local authorities work towards fulfilling legislated training requirements under the Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation, only ICS Canada or approved provider issued course completion certificates will be considered compliant.

Online self-study I-200 certificates are not accepted

AEMA and ICS Canada do not accept any online, self-study ICS I-200 certificates as valid proof of pre-requisite course completion for enrolment in ICS I-300. Only certificates issued by approved instructors of in-class ICS I-200 courses, which include all group activities and have an Alberta course number, satisfy the pre-requisites for ICS I-300 and subsequent advanced ICS training.

Replacement certificates

Before the introduction of course numbers in 2019, ICS instructors in Alberta were not required to submit course sign-in sheets or class lists to AEMA. Prior to 2019, instructors retained their own course records with a retention period of only two years.

Unfortunately, AEMA is unable to replace certificates over five years old as the records may not exist or were not submitted.  

To request for a replacement ICS course completion certificate:

  • Send an email [email protected] that includes the:
    • course name
    • course start and end date
    • training location
    • hosting organization name
    • name of the instructor (if possible)

Due to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, AEMA will only accept requests for replacement certificates from individuals. AEMA will not accept requests for replacement certificates from organizations asking on an individual’s behalf.

AEMA will not issue a replacement certificate to an individual without valid proof of course completion. If the instructor did not submit a course sign-in sheet or class list to AEMA, the individual must contact the issuing instructor or organization for a replacement certificate.

Waivers

AEMA Training, Certification, and Standards (TCS) may approve requests to waive a specific requirement or policy concerning ICS training in Alberta under the authority of the PTAHJ.

Please note that the waiver request approval is not guaranteed, and waiver requests are not retroactively approved.   

To request a waiver:

  • Send an email to [email protected] at least 5 business days before the course start date that includes;
    • background and current position
    • reason for waiver request
    • roles in current or past professions that included duties such as;
      • letter of support from AEMA Regional Field Officer, First Nations Field Officer, Senior ICS Consultant and/or Collective Training Field Officer.
      • experience with leadership within an ICS structure
      • experience with specific large incidents like wildfire, floods or pandemic response where ICS has been used or the equivalent of group or after-course exercises.
      • letter of support from AEMA Regional Field Officer, First Nations Field Officer, Senior ICS consultant and/or Collective Training Field Officer.

The manager, AEMA TCS will consider the following upon receiving a waiver request;

  • necessity (for example operational need or requirement, legislative requirement, training availability or significant process delay)
  • recommendation from AEMA Regional Field officer / First Nations Field Officer, senior ICS consultant, and/or Collective Training Field Officer
  • Intention and fulfilment of applicable policy,  standard or requirement

AEMA TCS will assign a PTAHJ waiver number to each approved waiver request for tracking purposes. 

If successful, the requesting individual and/or organization will receive an approval confirmation with the PTAHJ waiver number. Individuals and/or organizations are responsible for retaining copies of waiver request approvals for their own records.

Upon course enrolment, the student must provide the PTAHJ waiver number to the instructor to record in the “pre-requisite” column of the Course Sign-in.

Contact

Connect with Alberta Emergency Management Agency Training:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Email: [email protected]

Related

Previous Local authority courses
Next Collective training and All-Hazard Incident Management Teams