Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is thrilled to announce a partnership in the public safety space with the Emergency Response Training and Certification Association (ERTCA), a law enforcement training partner offering virtual reality simulations. Working alongside ERTCA is important for NPRC as the College can now provide training courses within three different disciplines of public safety – emergency medical services, fire safety, and law enforcement. With NPRC having an established Emergency Medical Services program and an emerging fire safety program, this partnership will give students access to enhanced experiences in law enforcement. Overall, this will help the College provide well-rounded training to meet the needs of the region.

To meet the demands of the changing landscape within this line of work, ERTCA is innovating their industry with new, standardized public safety training, education, and credentialing. Those in law enforcement will be able to work through virtual reality simulation training in a real-time, safe environment right where they are, reducing the barrier of traveling to a training facility. The simulations help participants feel as if they are in a real-life scenario with the ability to review their actions for enhanced decision-making capabilities. Another unique feature of this is that ERTCA delivers these courses at no cost.

“We want to refresh the public service industry with new practices and techniques,” noted ERTCA’s President Scott Henry. “We are looking at the public safety industry as a whole and are trying to bring training in this field to the 21st century. We provide the chance for students to experience great technology that will improve their job performance at no cost. We look forward to continued program growth and know that NPRC will be a valuable partner in doing so.”

Like NPRC, this organization is new, but the impact they have already made is immense, especially with their virtual reality simulation. With the ability to bring training to individual agencies or even host regional training, customers can make the accommodations and customizations that work best for their staff. Specifically, NPRC’s Workforce Development team is helping ERTCA gain awareness and deliver high quality training throughout the nine-county region we serve. After only working together for a brief time, NPRC has already helped the organization identify a collection of agencies and departments that will be taking advantage of their program offerings in 2023. 

“There are some big things in store for 2023 between NPRC and ERTCA,” said NPRC’s Director of Workforce Development Adam Johnson. “The organization operates virtual reality training courses with a mobile training platform that services Pennsylvania. Being able to help each other grow in the field of public safety will be an asset to this region and beyond.” 

For those interested in receiving training from the ERTCA, all that is necessary is to email NPRC’s Workforce Development department at workforcedev@rrcnpa.org to begin the process. For anyone interested in learning more about NPRC and other partnerships the College is proud of, visit our website at https://regionalcollegepa.org.