Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller and his top team have signed up for training courses with award-winning Bedford College.
Firefighters and office staff at Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service will take advantage of the huge range of courses which are available at the College.
Initially, Bedford College experts will conduct an audit of skills levels and then offer up training opportunities to enhance and complement the talents they find there.
The 2009 relationship puts on a more formal footing a friendship which already exisited between the two organisations:
Staff from BLFRS have enjoyed management, mentoring, IT and staff development training at the college.
Frontline firefighters have even taken food hygiene courses to make sure they are preparing food correctly when on shift on stations.
BLFRS has supported community safety and student projects on he college campus - such as a BBQ and fire safety awareness event and the college’s Public Services course on which young people get a taste of life in a uniformed service.
BLFRS wants to develop stronger links with the communities represented by the College and its 14,000 students - especially young people and those from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
And the college wants to take advantage of positive image of the fire service to help young people think about careers in public service, and about their own safety - at home and on the roads.
Firefighters posed for the award-winning Tell Me More public information campaign run by the College.
“There are a lot of synergies between ourselves and the fire service - we are both award-winning, high-achieving organisations and we both strive to serve and work with all communities and age groups in Bedfordshire,” said Bedford College Chief Executive Ian Pryce.
“There are exchanges of experience and expertise we can enjoy which would benefit both organisations.”
And since one in ten Bedfordians have been students at the college it is not surprise to find them now among the ranks of the 600 employed by BLFRS - the latest example being retained firefighter Bel Miller at Ampthill.
Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller said: “It is great for us to be able to link up with literally thousands of people via the open door of the College.
"We have home fire and road safety initiatives which we want to promote to all of our communities and working with the College will be great way to achieve this."