Abstract

Homeland security and emergency management are growing fields and many leaders of organizations, companies, and communities that previously thought little about the emergency management needs of their jurisdictions now find themselves looking for ways to prepare, respond, and recover from potential manmade and natural disasters. Government organizations and universities across the country have responded to these trends and offered a variety of courses, workshops, and academic programs to those working in homeland security and emergency management. Yet, very little is known about the educational and training needs of those who work in emergency management and homeland security. This research investigates the educational and training needs of individuals working in the emergency management field in a Midwestern state. Results show that one-third of the respondents believed the training and education of individuals in their organization were lacking. Respondents expressed more interest in individual courses and workshops than in college degrees for both themselves and others in their organization. Finally, respondents indicated that planning for emergencies, emergency response planning, and disaster response and recovery operations were the most important topics to include in homeland security/emergency management education programs. Implications for future research are presented.

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