You’re running out of emergency service volunteers, and it’s terrifying

If you are in emergency services, you’re probably already seeing it. Response times are stretching. Crews are being pulled in from other regions. When that happens, the consequences are not just operational. Homes are lost. Lives are put at risk.

At the centre of it all is a growing problem. There are not enough qualified trainers!

This is terrifying for the people impacted by the situation. If you are the Captain of a brigade or the Learning and Development Manager for your district, you likely feel like it is all your fault. You are doing everything you can, pushing to get people into the TAE, trying to keep them motivated, trying to hold it all together.

But no matter what you do, people drop out. They go quiet. They avoid your calls. Suddenly, it feels like it all falls back on you.

So let us say this clearly. You are not letting the team down. The system is letting you down.The good news is that you don't have to accept this. These are practical shifts you can make right now to turn this around. We are going to walk you through the three that make the biggest difference.

‍You’re letting the wrong people say yes

‍The life of a Learning and Development Manager is tough. You are likely exhausted from reliving the same issue, pushing someone to finish the TAE, or watching more money go to waste. 

If you have been through this cycle before, you know how it plays out. One of your best volunteers says yes. They start strong. You think this year might be different. Then reality hits, work picks up, the workload feels heavier than expected, and they slowly drift away.

Meanwhile, you are stuck in the middle. Supporting them without pushing too hard. Keeping them engaged without adding pressure. Hoping you do not lose another one.

At the same time, your current trainers are stretched. They are telling you they cannot do another year like this. And you are left wondering who will train the next intake or support the next fire season.

This is not just about failed TAEs. It is about the stress, the frustration, and the quiet worry that this cycle will continue.

The issue is simple. Too many people are saying yes at the wrong time. The volunteers who step forward are often the ones already carrying the load. Without a proper conversation upfront, they commit to something they do not fully understand.

This is where things start to unravel, for them and for your budget.The shift is to think differently. Do not focus on getting more people in. Focus on who should not start yet.

The real metric is not enrolments. It is completions.

When you look at it that way, the numbers can be confronting. In some cases, it was costing over $15,000 per qualified trainer, not because the training is expensive, but because too many people start when they are not ready and do not finish.

The real loss? Many of them would have completed, if they had simply waited for the right time.

So before anyone enrols, slow it down. Have a real conversation, not a quick check-in, but something more grounded:

- Why do you want to step into this role?
- What will the workload actually look like?
- Is this the right time in your life to take this on?

This is not about discouraging people. It is about protecting them and your organisation from avoidable drop-offs.

When someone withdraws, it does not just cost time. It costs confidence, momentum, and often thousands of dollars. For volunteers, it can also create guilt, the kind that stops them from putting their hand up next time.

And when that happens, you lose them for good.

So if you are worried about not having enough people enrolled, look beyond the usual volunteers. Some of your best future trainers are the ones who never put their hand up until they are asked.

Sarah, a L&D Coordinator in a regional district, saw this play out year after year. She would enrol 15 to 20 strong candidates. Every year, she spent over $40,000, her entire training budget. At the end of it, she would maybe get three qualified trainers. That is over $13,000 per completion.

When we spoke, she was frustrated but also worried. It was not just the money. It was the future of her brigade and pressure on her existing trainers. It felt like she was doing everything right but getting nowhere.

On our first call, we unpacked what was happening and landed on a simple shift together. Start with real conversations. Sarah went straight to work. She asked people why they wanted to step up and spoke honestly about what was involved. Something interesting happened. Out of 18 candidates, two realise they could not commit right now, two chose to delay, and the rest moved forward. This time, all 14 who enrolled completed. Even better, the ones who delayed stated engaged and came back when the timing was right.

Something else happened that Sarah did not expect. Interest grew. When people saw others finish, they saw the TAE differently. It no longer felt overwhelming. Becoming a trainer felt achievable.

Of those 20, all completed. The cost per completion dropped to $3,000 for the first time.

‍Fail to plan, plan to fail

‍Even if you have the right people, planning is critical. Fire season does not care about study schedules. Operational demands will always come first.

So study gets paused until after shifts, between callouts and into weekends that are meant for rest. You tell yourself your students will pick things back up when it settles down, but they rarely do.

That’s why we suggest study time should be treated like operational planning. You would not hope fire season works itself out. You plan for it. The same applies here.

We suggest you work with each student to set realistic expectations, map out the fire season and build it in their calendar like they would any other appointment. If it is not scheduled, it will not happen. - Calendar equals commitment  - To-do lists are considered optional.We saw this clearly with Marcel. As the Captain of his brigade, he was under pressure to build capability. He didn’t need more people enrolling in the TAE - he always had plenty. What he needed was people actually finishing.

But the same thing kept happening. Strong people would start, then drop off. When we looked closer, the issue was clear.

No one helped them plan for reality. No one had worked through where the time would come from or what would happen in peak periods. So when pressure hit, study was the first thing to go.

Every delay and withdrawal drove up the cost of completion. More time, more support, more money for fewer outcomes.

He went to work with each TAE enrolee and planned around real life, locked in time early, and supported people before they fell behind. The difference this made was like night and day, and for once, he had his whole team complete the course.

‍Stop treating it like a 12-month marathon

‍Even with the right people and a clear plan, momentum can still slip away. Twelve months without visible progress feels overwhelming. People start the course with good intentions, but when the finish line feels too far away, energy fades. Without checkpoints, feedback, or moments to recognise progress, people naturally begin to pause, procrastinate, or disengage altogether.

The challenge is even greater for volunteers already balancing work, family and other responsibilities. When progress feels invisible, motivation becomes harder to maintain. People can start questioning whether they’re getting anywhere at all.

It’s like asking someone to run a marathon, without any training program, milestones or sense of progress along the way. Most people wouldn’t make it to the finish line, not because they aren’t capable, but because the journey feels too long and too difficult to sustain.

The key is to break the journey into stages or sprints. Progress needs to feel real and visible. Each stage should: deliver a meaningful win, a chance to celebrate, and give people a reason to commit.

We actually discovered this by accident with Dan, a brigade captain who was, facing this exact challenge. His teams would often start strong, but would drop off over time. Completion costs were climbing to more than 200% of what they should have been, simply because people were disengaging before reaching the finish line.

When we spoke, we explained the importance of structure. The issue was not the people; it was the way the journey was set up.

We suggested a different approach. Create an early, meaningful outcome. Something practical that people could achieve within the first few months.

At first, he hesitated; his focus was on the full qualification. But when we showed him how early wins could increase motivation, he gave it a try.

The results were immediate. When they got a small win, they didn’t want to stop. When they hit a milestone, the learning became an exciting challenge. The course suddenly felt achievable, and his team were not just keeping the momentum going; they were actually completing the course.

When you break it down, it is simpler than it seems. Choose the right people who are ready to commit. Lock the study into their calendar and give them an early win so they are excited to continue.

High completion rates are not just luck. They are not about pushing harder. They come from having the right systems in place.

When the system works:
- The right people start.
- They stay motivated. 
- And they finish.

The impact is real. More trained firefighters. Stronger brigades. Faster response times. Safer communities.

Because it is not just about the training. It’s about making sure that when the call comes in, there are enough trained people ready to respond.

This is personal to us. We care about making sure there are enough people to step in when it matters most.

If we can help, even with a simple 30 minute conversation to support your current approach, we are here to help. Click below to schedule a call.

Because sometimes it is not about doing more, it is about doing it differently.