Rescue Instructor

Raven RSM (Rescue Safety Medical) is the Official Agent for Rescue 3 International, which means we are the sole Canadian provider of Rescue 3’s technical rescue and training courses in swiftwater, ice rescue, technical rope rescue and motorized boat handling.

We are also an independent provider of wilderness first aid and medical courses through Raven Medical.  In order to teach for us, you must first participate in our Instructor certification process and demonstrate a high standard of technical rescue and teaching ability before being signed off to teach others in a challenging environment.

“Why can’t I just take an Instructors’ course for a few days and get certified to teach?”

Instead of a standard “Train-the-Trainer” approach, we focus on recruiting those who already possess solid baseline skills and then work with them over a period of time to strengthen and fine tune their abilities. Our goal is to produce instructors that can bring out the best safety and rescue skills from the clients we work with. In light of this, the length of time our instructor training process takes depends on the candidate’s prior experience, aptitude, teaching goals and availability.

General Pre-requisites

All Instructor Candidates must possess:

• Operational experience in a related field
• Have taken a Technician level course in the chosen discipline at least twice (Raven or equivalent)
• Current certification at the Technician level for Rope Rescue (or equivalent)
• Current EMR/EMT B or Wilderness First Responder (80 hour) certification or higher

Choose the type of Instructor

• In-House Instructor
• Corporate Instructor

What is an In-House Instructor?

In-House Instructors are certified to teach only their colleaugues, (ie. those who are covered by the same insurance umbrella such as fellow fire department members or fellow SAR volunteers). Public registrations are not allowed in this type of course. In-House Instructors must demonstrate ability to teach the required skills and be able to respond to emergencies that could arise during a course, but do not have to meet the exceptional standard of operational ability, course delivery and client service that we require of Corporate Instructors (see below). 

Due to the time duration and financial commitment of our training process, the In-House Instructor program benefits departments/teams/groups that are training a large volume of personnel on an annual basis.

In-House Instructors must:

• Abide by our SOGs and Safe Work Procedures
• Follow our curriculum
• Purchase course materials from our office
• Return course materials to us in a timely manner
• Be audited every two years by an Instructor Trainer while teaching a course for their colleaugues

What is a Corporate Instructor?

Candidates working towards Corporate Instructor status are certified to teach courses organized by Raven RSM for a wide range of clients from emergency responders, to natural resource managers, to industrial personnel, to outdoor adventurers. We have rigorous requirements designed to ensure that our Corporate Instructors are capable of bringing out the best from every type of client they work with.

In order to become a Corporate Instructor, candidates must demonstrate:

• Mastery level of required and related skills
• Excellent physical fitness
• Compelling teaching ability
• High standard of professionalism
• A client service orientation

Raven RSM organizes all aspects of the courses taught by Corporate Instructors, including classrooms, insurance and travel. They must be audited by an Instructor Trainer every two years and participate in regular professional development opportunities to maintain their operational status.