AFCA 2027 Recruitment and Retention Survey

AFCA 2027 Recruitment and Retention Survey

The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA), through its Recruitment and Retention Committee, is conducting this survey to better understand the recruitment and retention challenges experienced by fire departments across Alberta.

The survey is divided into two primary areas:

Recruitment: Challenges and strategies associated with attracting and preparing new firefighters.

Retention: Challenges and strategies associated with maintaining an experienced and sustainable firefighter workforce.

The information collected will help identify provincial trends, highlight successful practices, and inform recommendations to municipalities, provincial government and fire service stakeholders.

Responses will be analyzed collectively to support evidence-based discussions and the development of practical recruitment and retention resources.

We encourage participation from departments of all sizes and service delivery models, including volunteer, paid-on-call, career and combination departments.

Thank you for contributing your experience and perspective to this important provincial initiative.

Section 1 - DEPARTMENT PROFILE

1. What type of fire department do you represent?

Section 3 - DEPARTMENT COMPLEMENT NEEDS

Where applicable please indicate how many additional fire fighters your department needs to meet its current staffing requirements. This would be especially useful when discussing resource needs with government.

Section 4 - RECRUITMENT

10. How difficult is it currently to recruit new fire fighters?
11. What are the three biggest challenges your department faces when recruiting new fire fighters?
12. Approximately how long does it take a new recruit to become an operational fire fighter in your department?
13. When you recruit, do you require certification as a requirement for hiring?

Section 5 - RETENTION

14. How would you rate your department's ability to retain fire fighters after they complete their initial training?
15. At what stage of service does your department experience the greatest fire fighter turnover?
16. What are the primary reasons fire fighters leave your department? Select your top three.
17. Which retention strategies does your department currently use? Select all that apply.

Section 6 - FIRE SERVICES CHALLENGES

18. How significant is the impact of training and certification requirements on your department's ability to recruit and retain fire fighters?
19. Which training or certification challenges affect your department's ability to recruit or retain fire fighters? Select all that apply.
20. How important are compensation or financial incentives to the recruitment and retention of volunteer/paid-on-call fire fighters?
21. Looking five years into the future, do you believe your department will have enough qualified fire fighters to meet its operational needs?

Section 7 - CHIEF OFFICER PERSPECTIVE