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    Training & Resilience

    Training and Resilience

    Curriculum-led training programmes — CBRN, HEAT, security personnel, crowd management, BHV / first-aid — designed by professionals who have actually done the work.

    Training is where capability is built. Our programmes are curriculum-led, scenario-based, and delivered by instructors with operational experience in the discipline they teach.

    CBRN runs across four levels (Awareness, Basic, Advanced, Specialised). HEAT prepares personnel for travel into hostile or fragile environments. Security personnel training upgrades on-site teams from compliant to capable. Crowd management and event security training covers static and dynamic scenarios for venue and event operators.

    BHV (bedrijfshulpverlening) and broader safety training — first-aid, fire warden, evacuation — keeps the organisation compliant and the people prepared. Where the operating environment is unusually high-risk, we offer a programme-level safety and H&S management engagement.

    Capabilities
    • CBRN Defence Training (four-level curriculum)
    • HEAT — Hostile Environment Awareness Training
    • Security Personnel Training (general)
    • Crowd Management and Event Security Training
    • Safety Training (BHV / first-aid / fire-warden / evacuation)
    • Safety / H&S Management for High-Risk Environments (programme work)

    CBRN training — the four-level curriculum

    CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) defence training is structured across four levels, each with a defined audience, learning outcome, and competency standard. Level 1 — Awareness — is designed for any personnel who may be first on scene at a CBRN incident: they learn to recognise indicators, avoid self-contamination, establish a safe perimeter, and trigger the correct response chain. This level is appropriate for frontline security personnel, facility managers, reception and access-control staff, and event management teams operating in environments assessed as at risk.

    Level 2 — Basic — builds operational first-response capability: contamination detection equipment, initial sampling protocols, PPE donning and doffing, and basic decontamination procedures. Level 3 — Advanced — is for personnel who lead or coordinate CBRN response: incident command, detailed detection methodology, technical decontamination, and liaison with specialist emergency services. Level 4 — Specialised — covers full technical specialist capability including advanced analytical equipment, complex decontamination operations, and the investigation and evidence-collection procedures that may follow a CBRN incident.

    Training at every level is delivered by instructors with operational CBRN experience, not classroom-only trainers. Scenario-based exercises form the majority of contact time at Levels 2, 3, and 4. Competency is assessed against a defined standard and documented; graduates receive written certification that is valid for the regulatory and insurance contexts in which it may be required. Refresher cadence depends on the level and the operating environment and is specified at programme outset.

    HEAT — Hostile Environment Awareness Training

    HEAT (Hostile Environment Awareness Training) prepares personnel for safe operation in environments where the security context is elevated — conflict-adjacent zones, fragile states, regions with active civil unrest, and locations where kidnap-for-ransom, armed robbery, or vehicle IED threats are assessed as credible. The original context was NGO and journalist field staff; today the client set includes corporate travellers, diplomatic support staff, extractive industry personnel, and private-sector organisations with operations in elevated-risk geographies.

    A standard HEAT programme covers: threat assessment and pre-deployment briefing for the specific destination; personal security management (movement security, low-profile behaviour, checkpoint behaviour, surveillance detection); first-response medical training covering trauma management in resource-limited environments (tourniquet application, wound packing, casualty movement); vehicle drills (evasion techniques, checkpoint protocols, vehicle choice); communications and emergency extraction protocols; and the psychology of high-stress environments — decision-making under pressure, hostage survival awareness, and stress inoculation.

    Programme length and depth are calibrated to the deployment profile. A one-day refresher for experienced travellers heading to a moderately elevated environment differs substantially from a three-to-five day programme for staff deploying to an active conflict zone for the first time. We assess the deployment, the profile of the attendees, and the organisation's existing security infrastructure, then design a programme that builds genuinely transferable competency rather than ticking a duty-of-care box.

    BHV and statutory safety training in the Netherlands

    BHV — bedrijfshulpverlening — is a statutory requirement under Dutch working-conditions law (Arbowet, Article 15). Every employer in the Netherlands must maintain a trained emergency-response organisation proportionate to the size and nature of the workplace. The minimum requirement is a defined number of trained BHV personnel (first-aiders, fire wardens, evacuation coordinators) relative to the number of employees and the risk classification of the workplace. Organisations that fail to demonstrate an adequate BHV organisation are exposed to regulatory enforcement by the ISZW (Dutch Labour Authority) and may face insurance complications in the event of an incident.

    A Mission Support BHV programme delivers the legally required competencies — first aid, AED operation, CPR, fire extinguisher use, evacuation management, and emergency plan coordination — and produces the documentation that demonstrates compliance: training records, competency assessments, and a programme cadence (initial certification plus annual refresher) matched to the regulatory requirement. We can deliver BHV training at the employer's site, which is the most practical approach for larger organisations, or at a designated training location.

    Beyond the statutory minimum, we offer broader safety training for organisations whose risk profile justifies it: high-angle and confined-space incident first response, scenario-based mass casualty triage, and safety management system design for operations in elevated-risk environments. These programmes are relevant for construction, logistics, event management, extractive industry, and any employer whose workforce is regularly exposed to elevated physical risk.

    Sectors served
    Multinational HR & travel programmesEmbassy and NGO field staffHospitality and venue operatorsCorporate emergency response teams
    FAQ

    Frequently asked questions

    What is CBRN training and who needs it?+
    CBRN training covers defensive awareness, detection, and response to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. It is needed by security personnel, first-responders, and operational staff working in environments where a CBRN threat is assessed as credible — including government and diplomatic facilities, critical infrastructure sites, pharmaceutical and research laboratories, major public events, and organisations with operations in conflict-adjacent geographies. Mission Support delivers CBRN training across four levels: Awareness (any frontline staff), Basic (first-response capability), Advanced (incident command), and Specialised (full technical specialist).
    Who should attend HEAT training?+
    HEAT (Hostile Environment Awareness Training) is relevant for anyone deploying to or transiting through environments with elevated security risk: journalists, NGO field staff, corporate travellers, extractive industry personnel, diplomatic support staff, and humanitarian workers. It is also relevant for executives and security managers who need to make deployment decisions for their teams — understanding the threat picture and risk management options is part of effective duty-of-care governance. Organisations with a policy of deploying staff to elevated-risk destinations should treat HEAT as a standard pre-deployment requirement, not an optional add-on.
    Is BHV training a legal requirement in the Netherlands?+
    Yes. Under Arbowet Article 15, every Dutch employer must maintain a trained bedrijfshulpverlening (BHV) organisation proportionate to the size and nature of the workplace. This means trained first-aiders, fire wardens, and evacuation coordinators in numbers appropriate to the employee headcount and workplace risk classification. Failure to maintain an adequate BHV organisation exposes the employer to enforcement action by the ISZW (Dutch Labour Authority) and may affect insurance coverage in the event of a workplace incident. Mission Support delivers BHV training that meets the statutory requirement and produces the documentation to demonstrate compliance.
    What is the difference between CBRN Awareness training and Specialised level?+
    CBRN Awareness (Level 1) is designed for personnel who may encounter a CBRN incident — it teaches recognition, self-protection, safe perimeter establishment, and emergency escalation. It is a half-day to one-day programme, classroom and scenario-based. CBRN Specialised (Level 4) is for trained technical operators who manage complex CBRN incidents: advanced detection and analytical equipment, full decontamination operations including technical and mass-decontamination procedures, forensic evidence collection, and multi-agency incident coordination. It is a multi-day programme with extensive practical exercises and assessed to a defined competency standard. Levels 2 and 3 bridge between them.
    Can training be delivered at our site?+
    Yes. On-site delivery is the standard approach for most of our training programmes, particularly BHV, security personnel training, and CBRN Awareness. Delivering at the client's site has practical advantages: staff do not need to travel, scenarios can be built around the actual physical environment (evacuation routes, detection equipment locations, site-specific threat picture), and documentation produced reflects the specific workplace. For higher-level CBRN training and HEAT, specialist training facilities or outdoor environments may be required for practical exercises — we confirm requirements at programme design stage.
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