Development Day - a personal view

Diane Dunlevey, Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service

A 4 hour drive after a full day at work, a night away from home, a room full of people talking about things that I do not understand, and about things that would be of no use to me. This is what came to mind when I was asked to attend an Asian Fire Service Association, AFSA, Development Day in Newcastle- upon -Tyne sponsored by the North East Regional Fire and Rescue Services.

The morning started off with welcome with Zahoor Ahmad the National Chair for AFSA, followed by the Chair of the Management Board at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Cllr Ian Lindley and the CFO Lain Bathgate. After which the morning took on a strategic flavour with speakers opening up discussion and information about The Equality Act; “New Challenges and Opportunities or a Threat” These included:

Implication of the Equality Act on race

The future of positive action

The Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework.

This is when I know it would go over my head “big word and the law” but the key note speakers were very good and made it easy to understand no big fancy words which made it easy to ask question. My understanding of the subject was clarified and as an AFSA member and Risk Reduction Technician I feel more confident and able to fulfil my role and duties.

Break time is when you get to network with others from different Fire and Rescue Services I meet many other people that do the same job as I do which made me realise that I am not alone so I do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to risk reduction work with the community and I established a good network of colleagues that I can contact.

After break it took a refreshing change as the workshops were split into strategic and non strategic. Those of us who did not work at a strategic level had the opportunity to pick 2 workshops from a choice of 4 and these were about personal development.

Workshop 1 - Managing Diversity

Workshop 2 -Leadership on Diversity Explored

Workshop 3 -Effective Public Speaking

Workshop 4 -Is it because I am black?

I picked workshop 2 and 4 both were well run and full of interesting people from many other organisations not just the fire services.

Workshop 2 -Leadership on Diversity Explored. This workshop was structured around the way we see ourselves and where we would like to go in the organisation we work in. It included how we could achieve that in terms of our focus and working styles. The workshop was helpful to me it helped me to understand my strengths and my weaknesses and what I can do to achieve. An interesting aspect was the things that worry me were also the same things that worry the others and I am not alone.

Workshop 4 -Is it because I am black? This workshop helped me to look at things from all angles it was presented as a debate about the name of the workshop “is it because I am black?” and what that statement meant to us. An interesting debate about labelling people how and why we do that took place this gave us the opportunity to say how we feel about being labelled. Food for thought as if we did not like being labelled then why do it? We were asked to look at our own views and prejudice’s. I recognised that this most be take place before we can change anything else.

The day was not what I thought it would be it was well planned and work related, I am glad that I attended and it was worth the 4 hour drive. I would like to recommend that if you do not know what AFSA is about to take the time and to check it and if you get the opportunity to attend a development day then go.