About Us

OUR HISTORY – 30+ YEARS OF PASSION FOR 911

Over twenty years ago, Sue Pivetta had a problem.  Her 9-1-1 Comm Center was facing a hiring crisis;  “We were hiring five and losing seven.”  Once, at dinner with friends, someone asked why she didn’t just ask around at the local college or high schools for qualified people she could hire…

Good question?!  Bad answer! There were NO vocational or high school CTE training programs in the U.S. or Canada for her chosen life work.  What skills are really needed for people to be qualified, and stay successfully employed in this industry?  And finally,  Sue, along with the college dean, and an advisory board of  9-1-1 professionals, started answering these questions and preparing the first vocational course in the nation at Renton Technical College.

The career clusters they found for this course were Health Science and Public Safety.  Using a DACUM process, 10 primary topics or units of study were determined as necessary for an entry level 9-1-1 training course.  The NECC (National Emergency Communications Certification) and the 9-1-1 Call Taking and Radio Dispatch Simulator 911 Reality followed.

Update to today!  Sue Pivetta has a company of professional 9-1-1 educators helping to create educational programs in high schools and colleges nationwide, but 9-1-1 is unfortunately STILL in a hiring crisis.  Clearly, so many more college and high school programs are needed. Graduates can be hired at age 18, can earn competitive wages, and provide a valuable service to EVERY single community!  CTE graduates have a huge advantage over walk-in applicants, just being able to know that they have the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the rigorous on-the-job training phase. Check our your states current openings here.

Curriculum & Credentials:  The profession of Emergency Communications or 9-1-1 is quite a mystery.  Is there a national certification required to hire?  No.  Are there state certifications required to hire?  No.  There are a few states with local mandates or voluntary recommendations, (view your state at the NECC page), but there are no standardized pre-employment or hiring credentials.  So how do you know that what we are offering here as a turnkey 9-1-1 career program is a good choice?  Let’s explore that:

1. The 9-1-1 curriculum and textbook followed an extensive DACUM process while working with an advisory board of 9-1-1 professional trainers.  This process identified 10 areas of study necessary for complete learning, formatted in its 6th Edition, with fully updated materials, adapted to the current needs of today’s Emergency Telecommunicators, and the agencies served.  Curriculum now available online at www.9-1-1Academy.com
2. The NECC Telecommunicator Level 1 Exam was validated at Professional Testing Corp of NYC, working with a coalition of 9-1-1 professional educators across the US and Canada.  Level 1 Student Exams must be proctored by a Certified Instructor.   Learn more.
3. The 9-1-1 Reality Simulator was created through a collaboration of simulation software experts, 9-1-1 professional trainers, and vocational college educators.  The design is user friendly, turnkey, requires no IT techs, and offers a full range of generic entry level learning tools that allow for a truly experiential learning opportunity.  Fully customizable, and available in BASIC, PLUS, or multi-student models. Check out our simulators!

Now we continue to make teaching 9-1-1 even easier.  We have created a great online course!  We have recently embedded the SKILLS requirement into the online program – due to the need for remote learning!  And it is our mission and passion to get 9-1-1 education into EVERY college and high school in the nation.  We have a looooong way to go!  We invite you to meet with us on Join.Me, take a look at the various training resources, and learn more about this VITALLY important career choice that serves each and every one of us and has been overlooked for too long…let’s work together to appropriately prepare our FIRST FIRST RESPONDERS.

Download 911 magazine article to learn more about the state of 911.