An Analysis of the Effects of the Methods of Recruiting Street Level Firefighters on Their Work Cognition and Performance
Chih-Pei Hu, Chien-Chun Chen*
Abstract
This analysis compares two approaches of recruiting street-level firefighters and takes a look at how these two approaches have affected their work cognition and performance. By interviewing the stakeholders through questionnaires, this analysis has found the following results: First, firefighters who have graduated from police academy have relatively good work cognition and work performance; Second, firefighters who have graduated from the police academy perform better in disaster rescue missions, and non-police academy graduates are good at project planning and paper work; Third, firefighters who are non-police academy graduates do not receive enough professional education and training, a drawback that has a great influence on job performance; Fourth, the fire fighting entry examination focuses only on writing tests, without making physical and technical requirements, resulting in a gap between the students’ knowledge and needed skills.
Based on the empirical findings, this analysis expects to be of help in the development of firefighting human resources by proposing more adequate measurements for education and training, and designing a better recruiting mechanism－which hopefully will help street level firefighters achieve their best performance.
Keywords:street level firefighter, work cognition and performance, recruiting approach
*Chih-Pei Hu, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Chung-Hua Univerity.
Chien-Chun Chen, Section Assistant, Personnel Office, Fire Bureau, Hsinchu County Government; Master of Public Administration, Department of Public Administration, Chung-Hua University.
http://www.exam.gov.tw/public/Data/16110162671.pdf