Emergency Preparedness and Management PGCert

Course overview

This course caters to those with an emergency response remit looking to develop skills and capacity in emergency planning, incident management, training and exercising development and delivery.

This course aims to provide you with the academic underpinning to analyse the features that make for best-practice planning, policy and process, so that you can go on to devise effective emergency incident management of your own.

• The programme covers important legal and socio-political frameworks within emergency and incident management, as well as investigating emerging technological solutions, and the contemporary safety and threat environments that impact on the sector.
• The four modules have been reviewed by external experts in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (UK Cabinet Office) and meet the requirements of government and other organisations. Modules from this programme can be taken forward and count towards the MSc in Emergency Management and Resilience qualification.
• The part-time route allows those already employed in crowd safety, health and safety, and security management to balance their studies with other commitments and apply academic rigour to their practical experience.

Why you should study this course

• You should advance your skills in evaluating complex situations, developing creative and innovative solutions, and implementing lessons learned. If you study on campus, there will be opportunities to take part in training and exercises through simulated emergency scenarios in our immersive Simulation Centre⁴.
• Course content is broad-based to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the subject. For example, as well as being taught current and evolving techniques and tactics used to prevent, plan, prepare or respond to a wide range of emergencies, we will also cover and critically appraise relevant technical data and information, best practice in emergency planning and incident management.
• Members of our current teaching team have practical experience and have carried out employment, consultancy and research in emergency and incident management and allied professions. This includes command and control design, the design and management of simulated emergency exercises, emergency planning, risk mapping, the preparation of response frameworks for mass evacuation, (staff subject to change).
• Opportunities for recognition of prior learning and experience (RPL/RPEL) on a case-by-case basis (evidence required). Please see the course specification for further information.
• There is dedicated support available for those who are new to Higher Education, or returning after a long break, with the Centre For Academic Writing’s programme of online and in person tutorials available to all students.

Careers and opportunities

On successful completion, you should have:

• A comprehensive evaluation of risk, its components and influencing factors, approaches to assessment, prioritisation and role in planning, managing and recovering from crises and emergencies.
• Detailed knowledge of policy and approaches for mitigating, preparing for, managing and recovering from emergencies or crises for responding agencies and organisations and affected communities.
• A thorough comprehension of approaches to assessing complexity and interaction and developing, monitoring and evaluating resilience in processes, systems, organisations and communities at risk from known and emergent threats in a sustainable way.
• A detailed analysis of multi-stakeholder engagement, communication, co-operation and governance in all aspects of policy and strategy development, implementation and management at all scales.
• An ability to manage information, evaluate uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity in knowledge, method and management, and make appropriate and defensible decisions.

Our part-time students are often sponsored by their employers, and successful completion of this postgraduate level qualification could provide the credibility needed to progress in your organisation and career.

Successful graduates could work in a range of organisations with crowded places duties, including venue and stadia management, the uniformed services, private security management, and the live events, transport and retail sectors.

The course aims to support the development of your skills in problem-solving, teamwork and leadership, project management and communication, all of which are qualities employers demand. We strive to produce graduates who can make difficult decisions whilst being culturally sensitive, ethical and compassionate.

Our current teaching staff and the university’s Talent Team can support your search for employment in the UK or overseas by making use of our alumni network, industrial contacts, careers events, recruitment fairs and individual advice (all subject to availability).