16 Hours | Advanced / Experienced Telecommunicators

The Communications Training Officer (CTO) Program is a comprehensive, skills-focused course designed for experienced telecommunicators who have been selected to train, mentor, and evaluate new dispatchers within their agency. This program equips CTOs with proven instructional methods, evaluation techniques, and leadership tools to ensure consistent, defensible, high-quality training at the local level.

Throughout this two-day course, participants will explore the principles of adult learning, federal law and liability concerns, communication strategies, and the essential responsibilities of a CTO. Emphasis is placed on creating a positive training environment, understanding trainee performance, delivering effective feedback, and documenting progress using standardized, legally defensible training forms.

Students will develop skills in:

• Interpersonal Communication and Verbal Judo

• Stress management for both trainers and trainees

• Customer service expectations inside and outside the center

• Training a multigenerational workforce

• Understanding vicarious liability, EEOC standards, and legal responsibilities

• Evaluating performance using Daily Observation Reports and Standard Evaluation Guidelines

• Identifying learning styles, coaching methods, and effective mentoring behaviors

• Handling remedial training, performance issues, and trainee “peaks and valleys”

The program concludes with practical evaluation exercises, allowing participants to apply the standardized CTO evaluation process to real call audio. Students must pass a written exam with a score of 75% or higher to successfully complete the course.

This course is ideal for agencies seeking to strengthen the consistency, professionalism, and defensibility of their training programs by developing confident, capable Communications Training Officers who can lead the next generation of telecommunicators.

Instructor Jason Long