Skip to main content

Instructor Information

Instructor Qualification Requirements

NWCG has established general and course-specific instructor qualification requirements for Lead, Unit, and Adjunct Instructors. Course-specific instructor requirements are stated on each course page. These are the general instructor requirements.

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate course planning efforts with the course coordinator.
  • Provide leadership to the instructor cadre.
  • Oversee the entire presentation of the course.
  • Provide students an organized and professional training experience.
  • Ensure the course objectives are achieved.
Qualifications Requirements Course Content Knowledge/Experience

All Courses

Ability to meet instructor qualifications stated in the NWCG course description.

100 – 200 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) as required in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Written approval by course coordinator to instruct a specific unit or technical portions of one or more units.

300-600 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) as required in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) one level above that identified in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Qualified in a Type 1 or Type 2 ICS Command and General Staff position in the same functional area as the course being presented.
  • Meets the NIMS Training Program instructor criteria for specific course (supplemented by the NIMS ICS All-Hazards Position Specific Training Program: Administrative Guidelines). (NOTE: Written approval by and NWCG member agency geographic area, regional, or state fire director can be substituted for currency requirement above.)

One of the following:

  • Accepted formal instructional training (i.e. State fire training certificate, college teacher’s credential, college education courses, NWCG M-410 Facilitative Instructor course, etc.).
  • 40 hours of successful fire service instruction.

and

40 additional hours (80 total hours) of successful fire service instruction.

All Courses

Sufficient experience in presenting all course units in order to substitute for unit instructors (Technical complexity of some courses may preclude this).

300 – 600 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Successful completion or audit of course being taught.
  • Successfully assisted in instructing the course.
  • Successfully completed Train-the-Trainer course (if applicable) and successfully taught the course in the past 5 years as determined by the course coordinator.

Exception for Lead Instructor Qualifications:

Exceptions to the lead instructor qualifications may be granted by the host agency(s) on a case by case basis. Instructors that are not currently qualified in the position(s) called for in the instructor criteria, but, who hold a higher qualification in the same functional area, and have been certified in the position in the past may be granted lead instructor status.

Responsibilities

  • Assist the lead instructor and fellow instructor cadre members.
  • Provide students organized and professional training experience.
  • Ensure the course objectives are achieved
Qualifications Requirements Course Content Knowledge/Experience

All Courses

  • Ability to meet instructor qualifications stated in the NWCG course description.

100- 200 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) as required in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Written approval by course coordinator to instruct a specific unit or technical portions of one or more units.

200 Level Courses

  • Recommended: 32 hours of instructor training (Facilitative Instructor, M-410; equivalent course; Degree in Education; current or previous Education credential).

300-600 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) as required in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Qualified and current (minus Work Capacity Test and Annual Fireline Safety Refresher) one level above that identified in the NWCG Course Description.
  • Qualified in a Type 1 or Type 2 ICS Command and General Staff position in the same functional area as the course being presented.
  • Meets the NIMS Training Program instructor criteria for specific course (supplemented by the NIMS ICS All-Hazards Position Specific Training Program: Administrative Guidelines).

(NOTE: Written approval by and NWCG member agency geographic area, regional, or state fire director can be substituted for currency requirement above.)

and

One of the following:

  • Accepted formal instructional training (i.e. State fire training certificate, college teacher’s credential, college education courses, NWCG M-410 Facilitative Instructor course, etc.).
  • 40 hours of successful fire service instruction.

All Courses

  • Experienced in the lesson content they are presenting.

300 – 600 Level Courses

One of the following:

  • Successful completion or audit of course being taught.
  • Successfully assisted in instructing the course.
  • Successfully completed Train-the-Trainer course (if applicable) and successfully taught the course in the past 5 years as determined by the course coordinator.

Responsibilities

  • Provide limited instruction in specialized knowledge and skills at the discretion of the lead instructor.
Qualifications Requirements Course Content Knowledge/Experience

All Courses

  • Subject matter expert on course related materials
  • Demonstrated course related technical expertise.
  • Published subject related article or paper in previous 5 years.Ability to meet instructor qualifications stated in the NWCG course description.

All Courses

Known or demonstrated expertise on one or more subjects associated with the course.

(this section is still being edited)

Definitions

  • Qualified instructor
  • Certified instructor (distinction between these two?)
  • Agency certifying official
  • Official
  • Reviewing official
  • Active instructor list
  • Training center coordinator

Instructor Certification

  • Personnel who meet minimum instructor qualification requirements must be certified by their home agency to be NWCG instructors. Certification is provided by a designated agency certifying official. Who is this?
  • Certification results in the NWCG instructor being placed on the “IQCS Active Instructor List” (?). Where is this located?  Who owns and maintains it? Why not “NWCG Active Instructor List?”

Instructor Evaluation

  • Observing, documenting, and evaluating instructor performance is the responsibility of who?
  • Instructors are evaluated according to what standard?
  • NWCG instructor certification is maintained by, 1) continuing to meet minimum instructor qualification requirement and 2) getting satisfactory or better instructor evaluations. (do we have a standard and a tracking system for this?)

Instructor Decertification

  • Poor instructor performance as evaluated (to what standard?) by training center coordinator or  reviewing official, documented in (what document), and recommended to the agency certifying official may result in decertification.
  • The decertification recommendation can be for a specific course, group of courses, or all courses.
  • Decertification recommendations for contract instructors may result in nonpayment. The contracting officer will be involved in the final disposition.
  • Decertification shall remain in place until the problem has been remedied.
  • Decertification should include removal from active instructor list(s) in IQCS.

Instructor Recertification

  • How does recertification differ from certification… (?)

NWCG Latest Announcements

NWCG 2024 Spring/Summer Highlights

Date: September 13, 2024

Image
Forest Service Logo
Image
Bureau of Indian Affairs Logo
Image
Bureau of Land Management Logo
Image
National Park Service Logo
Image
Fish & Wildlife Service Logo
Image
State Foresters Logo
Image
U.S. Fire Administration
Image
Intertribal Timber Council Logo
Image
International Association of Fire Chiefs
Image
Department of Defense Logo

Welcome to our latest highlights from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, where we explore the latest updates, insights, and efforts that develop interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.
 

Image
NASA Logo

NASA JOINS NWCG!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is officially an associate member of NWCG. As such, NASA is beginning to collaborate with wildland fire management agencies with the goal of increasing collaboration across agencies and leveraging NASA data, technology, and innovation for nation-wide efforts in wildland fire management. NASA has a rich history of research, development, and technology transfer in the areas of Earth science, space technologies, and aeronautics that support the NWCG mission.

Image
NWCG new website look.

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

The NWCG web team dedicated the past two years to making a significant upgrade to the www.nwcg.gov site. This upgrade involved a comprehensive redesign of over 7,700 web pages.

The modernization of NWCG’s website involved migrating to Drupal 10, a cutting—edge content management system, and leveraging Amazon Web Service GovCloud for secure and efficient hosting. These upgrades help ensure that the NWCG website remains current in content management practices, offering enhanced customization, improved performance, and an overall superior user experience.

NWCG Leadership Committee

Image
WFLDP Professional Reading Program logo
Image
WFLDP PRP book covers

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program announced the Professional Reading Program’s 2024 list!

The years books include:

  • Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
  • The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven
  • The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
  • Emotional Agility by Susan David
  • Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall

Learn more at the NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

In 2023, NWCG kicked off the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. A training system overhaul focused on developing a performance-based training system designed to shift training to on-the-job when appropriate.

Over the next five years, NWCG intends to analyze all positions within the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. To date we are currently working on 30 incident positions, and planning for 20+ in calendar year 2025.

Subject Matter Experts from a variety of geographical areas and agencies recently completed the position analysis for 16 positions. From this analysis, Incident Positions Standards and a Next Generation Position Task Book will be developed for each position.

Image
Incident Performance and Training Modernization

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

In April 2024, NWCG launched the new Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB) which is a key component of the IPTM effort. This revised evaluation tool is designed to work in conjunction with the newly developed Incident Position Standards.

Major Next Gen PTB changes:

  • Structured to improve constructive conversations between evaluators and trainees.
  • Reference new Incident Position Standards.
  • Include only tasks required to be evaluated for successful performance.
  • Trainees will be rated on their performance vs. initialing whether a task was completed.
  • Must include written feedback when trainee does not meet the standard.
  • Will be position specific (no combined PTBs).
Image
Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book
Image
Banner image of the Wildland Fire Learning Portal website

NWCG’s training course catalog is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP).

To access the training course catalog, visit WFLP and either set up an account or login as a guest.

 

 

The Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book are now available for Aircraft Base Radio Operator (ABRO)

Date: September 12, 2024
Contact: Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that the NWCG Incident Position Standards for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 350-87 and NWCG Position Task Book for Aircraft Base Radio Operator (ABRO), PMS 311-87 are now available.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.

References:

NWCG Aircraft Base Radio Operator Position Page

NWCG Incident Position Standards for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 350-87

NWCG Position Task Book for Aircraft Base Radio Operator, PMS 311-87

NWCG Mental Health Subcommittee Recognizes September as Suicide Prevention Month

Date: September 9, 2024
Contact: Mental Health Subcommittee 

The NWCG Mental Health Subcommittee (MHSC) is dedicated to raising awareness about mental health within our wildland fire community. This year’s Suicide Prevention Month theme, “Stronger Together,” underscores the importance of unity and support in every facet of our lives — at work, with family, and among friends.

As we recognize Suicide Prevention Month, including Suicide Prevention Week (September 8 – September 14, 2024) and World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10, 2024), we encourage you to share resources and engage in meaningful conversations within your teams.

Remember: We are Stronger Together, and help is always available. Let’s continue to support one another and foster an environment where mental health is a priority.

References:

NWCG Mental Health Subcommittee

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

2024/2025 NWCG Leadership Campaign – The Roots of Wildland Fire Leadership

Date: August 28, 2024
Contact: Leadership Committee 

NWCG is excited to announce the 2024/2025 NWCG Leadership Campaign, themed "The Roots of Wildland Fire Leadership." This campaign provides an opportunity for personnel to engage in leadership development activities.

The campaign features four modules that can be completed at any time between May 2024 and May 2025.

The Leadership Committee promotes and enables the development of leaders in the wildland fire service by providing educational and leadership development opportunities.

References:

2024/2025 NWCG Leadership Campaign – The Roots of Wildland Fire Leadership

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program

NWCG Leadership Committee