Joining the Mid Murray RFS region after 15 years as a volunteer RFS member in Shoalhaven, the move has provided an amazing opportunity for John.
He was one of a number of South Western Command employees to complete the NSW Rural Fire Service Operational Officer Level One Induction Program (OpO) this month.
It has seen him graduate from district assistant to operations officer.
Over the course of the 14-week intensive program, John was training at the NSW RFS Training Academy in Dubbo.
“Everything you can think of about the job, from start to finish, we learned in the 14-week intense program,” he said.
“It really helped to give context to things that you may already know from being a volunteer.
“It is really different, being a volunteer with RFS to being a worker with RFS.”
The Operational Officer program is an initiative by the NSW RFS providing enhanced training and development opportunities to build skills base, knowledge and experience and at the same time create a skilled and mobile workforce that enhances organisational capacity across NSW.
The program entails a wide range of training in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery as well technical skills to prepare them for a new career.
The program and its qualification can start the journey of promotion through the NSW RFS ranks, potentially moving you around the state, as was the case for John.
It is what brought him to Deniliquin, and he’s in no hurry to leave.
John has enjoyed the town and has felt welcomed by the locals.
“Everyone I have interacted with has been really welcoming and friendly,” he said.
“I have no intentions of leaving town yet.
“I am here for the long haul, but the nature of the job dictates that I have to move at some point.”
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