Trainings and Exercises
Virginia Tech Emergency Management provides a wide variety of trainings and exercises designed to strengthen and test individual preparedness, departmental readiness, and university resiliency.
Trainings are typically available to Virginia Tech students and employees and focus on building a specific set of emergency preparedness, response, or recovery skills. Exercises are available to groups within the university and are crafted to test plans and procedures and strengthen institutional readiness.
Currently, the following trainings are offered:
This course is designed to improve employee preparedness for safety on the job and for other potential hazards. All state employees are required to complete annually.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Bobbi Myers at 540-231-2438 or bobbim@vt.edu.
The CRASE course is designed to improve the safety and survivability of victims of active attack and mass shooting events through the introduction of the Avoid, Deny, Defend (ADD) strategy. All state employees must complete course at least one time; required at start of state service.
The 6 session, in-person Hokie Ready Academy provides participants with a broad overview of preparedness and select emergency skills that are valuable in everyday life. The Academy includes both lecture and hands-on opportunities to learn skills associated with preparing for and dealing with emergencies. Click here to learn more about the Hokie Ready Academy.
There are several levels of Incident Command System training with different modality options. Additional information for each course can be found on FEMA's website. VTEM provides in-person training opportunities for ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, and ICS-400. The VTEM in-person training is designed to prepare the participant to complete the FEMA test in the online version of this training. All certificates of completion are issued through FEMA.
In addition to in-person classes here at VT, ICS-100 and ICS-200 may be taken online directly through FEMA. If you hold a position at Virginia Tech that may require you to assist in an emergency (such as members of the university IMT), VTEM requests you email a copy of your certificate to OEM@vt.edu.
Please note that taking FEMA training and the test require to register for a SID#. Follow the directions found on FEMA's website to obtain an SID# prior to attempting the test or registering for an online course.
B-Con is a 2-hour course provided by VTEM that is designed for individuals who have little to no medical training and includes:
- B-Con information
- Hands-on tourniquet and wound management
- Program review and summary
The Virginia Tech Stop the Bleed program follows the B-Con curriculum from the American College of Surgeons. Anyone in the campus community can register for this free training by visiting our registration site to see available dates and times
To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.
Who is eligible and how do I get started?
NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service to join the SKYWARN® program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches and nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are encouraged to become a spotter. Training is free and typically lasts about 2 hours. You'll learn:
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- Identifying potential severe weather features
- Information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
Virginia Tech Emergency Management strives to provide additional training and exercise opportunities tailored to meet the needs of the Virginia Tech community and enhance existing preparedness efforts. If you would like to request a training or exercise, please contact us at oem@vt.edu. Virginia Tech Emergency Management is also here to answer questions around Commonwealth of Virginia trainings and resources.