The effectiveness of employee development at West Sussex fire and rescue service (WSFRS) - employee insights

The UK Fire and Rescue Service is undergoing a modernisation programme. An element of this modernisation is the adoption of a national framework of skills and competencies, known as the 'Integrated Personal Development System' (IPDS), to be used at all stages of employees' careers; from selection, through training and development and performance management to retirement. The IPDS implementation has caused employee development to change beyond all recognition. The National Fire and Rescue Service Learning and Development Strategy provides a framework for a decade, spanning 2005 to 2015, whereby implementing IPDS supports modernisation of the Fire and Rescue Service. However, concerns have been expressed about the degree of progress made by individual Fire and Rescue Services in their implementation of IPDS relating to issues such as whether each of the elements that make up IPDS fit together effectively, whether the tools are being utilised for their intended purpose and whether IPDS is delivering results.