Being a dispatcher is an exciting and ever changing career. No two shifts are the same. Furthermore, there are a huge range of opportunities you can choose from upon graduation. You can become a 911 dispatcher, an aircraft dispatcher or an import/export specialist, just to name a few possible career paths.
The training program encompasses three distinct phases: Aircraft dispatch, transportation dispatch and global supply chain management.
What to Expect Overall
You’ll learn everything you need to know about the dispatch industry to get an entry level job position. These are some of the vital skills you’ll learn.
Crisis Management. How do you handle people, yourself and decision making when under pressure?
Emergency Procedures. Exactly what to do in various emergency situations, from vehicle collisions to stab wounds to robberies.
Air Traffic Control. Learn all the rules and regulations relating to air planes taking off and landing.
Hazardous Materials. How are hazardous materials, dangerous goods, reactive chemicals, radioactive materials and other such substances handled? Learn how to get these from Point A to Point B with minimal risk.
Dispatch Systems. Learn how to use all the tools and systems you need to be an effective dispatcher. This includes both phone systems and computer systems.
Meteorology. Meteorology affects how airplanes fly, when it’s safe to land and when planes should be grounded.
Laws & Regulations. Learn all the pertinent laws and regulations regarding dispatch and global logistics.
These classes are taught with a combination of classroom education and hands-on experience. The program also involves assignments conducted outside the classroom setting. Let’s go through each of the three phases in more detail.
Phase I: Aircraft Dispatch
In this phase, you’ll learn everything you need to know about air traffic control. You’ll learn how to determine right of way for aircrafts, how to respond to aircraft emergencies, how to operate air traffic control equipment and more.
Upon completion of Phase I, you’ll be eligible to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) qualification test. If you pass, you’re then immediately eligible to get a position in the aircraft dispatch industry.
Positions include: Assistant Aircraft Dispatcher, Aircraft Dispatcher Crew Scheduler, and Flight Follower.
Phrase II: Transportation Dispatch
Phase II encompasses a very wide range of topics dealing with all sorts of transportation dispatch.
This section covers emergency response dispatch. If you want to be a 911 operator or to work other emergency lines, this training is essential. You’ll learn how to calm distraught callers, how to quickly assess a situation, how to dispatch the appropriate emergency services and more.
Phase II also includes the trucking industry. Learn how both long haul and short haul transportation works. You’ll also learn how carrier transport and service fleets work.
Finally, the course also covers railroad dispatch. Though rail isn’t frequently used for travel any longer, it’s still a prime way businesses transport goods.
Upon completion of Phase II, you’ll be qualified to work as an emergency dispatcher, a 911 operator, a railroad dispatcher, a fleet dispatcher or a communication technician.
Phase III: Global Supply Chain Logistics
This aspect of the course covers the ins and outs of warehousing, distribution, import/export and customs.
Warehousing is a much more complex operation than most people realize. Inside the warehouse, you have a sophisticated system for speedily storing and retrieving items. Inventory management as well as managing the warehouse’s suppliers is key.
Outside the warehouse, you have to manage resupply operations as well as distribution. Distribution may involve learning how to ship products en mass, how to send large quantities of mail and how to distribute your own products without using outside transportation services.
Import / export deals and customs deals with shipping products overseas and receiving overseas products. In today’s global economy, import and export jobs and becoming more and more lucrative. All products that are manufactured overseas, which includes most textiles and electronics, have to come through customs. Likewise, any US exports have to go through customs as well.
Upon graduating, you’ll be eligible to work as freight forwarders, brokers for shipping companies, cargo agents, shipping associates, customer service agents, and account representatives for warehousing, distribution or import/export companies.
Doing a public safety dispatcher training opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities. Whether you want to work with aircrafts or emergency situations, with international clients or your local railroad company, it all begins here.
Author Bio – This is a guest post by Ingrid Kinsella working for Michigan Institute of Aviation and Technology. If you’re looking for dispatcher schools or want more information on public safety dispatcher training, make sure you visit their website today.
