Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre - Courses

Duration: 10 months

Location: Distance learning with 5 in house residencies

Frequency: 1/year (bilingual)

Prerequisite: Application to the Reserve Public Affairs Officer trade is done through the member’s unit Personnel Selection Office or a local recruiting centre. Candidates must be serving in or designated for a Reserve Public Affairs position before the course. If space permits, members of the Cadet Instructor Cadre serving in a Public Affairs role will be accepted.

Description: Graduation from the RBPAOC results in the same qualification as the Regular Force BPAOC (see above) with both courses participating in a joint exercise and graduation each year.

Students are expected to dedicate the equivalent of two days a week to the distance learning segments and attendance at all residencies is mandatory. Assignments are due on a weekly basis, online participation in discussions and case studies is mandatory, and all Performance Objectives must be met in order to successfully complete the course.

In development.

Duration: 1 week

Location: In house and throughout Canada

Frequency: 5/year (French and English serials)

Prerequisite: This course is open to those from the rank of Sergeant/Petty officer 2nd Class to Captain/Lieutenant(Navy), who are serving as their unit’s public affairs representative either as a secondary duty or full-time. It is also open to civilian employees working in a PA environment.

Commands and L1s must each develop a priority list of personnel requiring training with a brief substantiation. Every Canadian Armed Forces unit is expected to have a trained UPAR so demand for this course is very high, with the Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre holding a waiting list.

Description: The UPAR course is an intense training program that prepares the UPAR (officers or non-commissioned members) who perform public affairs as a secondary duty) to perform the tasks associated with this function.

It meets a national military need at the unit level by offering the learners the basics of communication theory; instruction in the preparation and use of unit level communication tools, products and public affairs plans in support of unit operations and exercises; and an understanding of basic media relations including interview techniques.

Duration: 1-2 days

Location: In house and Reserve-supported sessions throughout Canada

Frequency: As required (bilingual)

Prerequisite: Liaise with Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre staff to determine if this training we’ll meet your organization’s needs.

The DST is a tailored workshop that provides senior Departments of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces spokespersons with an opportunity to prepare for successful media events and interviews (testimony before committees, specific news conferences, town hall preparation, etc.) in a variety of settings. DPALC has a television studio, radio studio and other facilities available for this training, which consists of:

• Introduction to the media
• Media scenarios
• The roles and responsibilities of the spokesperson
• A review and discussion of the candidate’s role, interview topics and messages
• Practice on-camera interviews, evaluation and feedback

Duration: 7.5 hours

Location: Distance learning

Frequency: Ongoing

Prerequisite: The Social Media Primer is open to all military and civilian public affairs practitioners.

Description: The SMP provides an opportunity for all social media practitioners and communicators to share a baseline level of knowledge and fundamental skills in social technologies to communicate effectively.