Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) – Six Years in a snapshot

The reasons why the PDT has been successful

Predictability – Availability – Reliability

The PDT is defined by the ESDC as a ‘final-cut briefing’ complementing national mission preparedness training activities. It provides participants with the latest relevant information, instruments and policies to enable them to effectively contribute, within a short period of integration time, to the implementation of the mission mandate. The PDT is not a substitute for training provided at national level, which remains in the hands of Member States, as clearly indicated in the new Policy on CSDP Training (April 2017).

1036 participants attending 55 courses over six years

Research by the Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management has, however, shown that there is a general lack of preparatory training courses, such as the PDT and the HEAT, for future staff who are to be deployed to CSDP missions and operations.

The ESDC offers a reliable fall-back option at EU level by ‘filling the gap’ for Member States that do not provide training at national level. It is also open to contract staff who are not catered for by Member States and to seconded staff who are sent to Brussels for a final-cut briefing.

Over the last five years, the PDT has gained general acceptance among seconding and contracting authorities as part of the mission preparedness process. The following characteristics have been key to its success:

• Predictability: The course dates are known a year in advance and courses are offered at monthly intervals, timed to coincide with the recruitment cycle of contract staff. This allows seconding and recruiting authorities to plan in advance.
• Availability: The course dates are systematically communicated to national seconding authorities, the human resources department of the CPCC headquarters in Brussels and the human resources departments of CSDP missions and operations. They are also published on Schoolmaster and ENLIST.
• Reliability: The course curriculum is developed in close cooperation with the CSDP and the EEAS and is regularly revised and adapted to the latest developments, including outside the regular revision cycle if necessary.

The PDT is normally held nine times a year in Brussels and provides a unique opportunity for future mission staff to meet their respective mission/operation points of contact (PoCs) and to get a feel for the Brussels headquarters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all PDT courses have been conducted virtually since June 2020. The course was adapted and put in an appropriate format for online learning: in particular, the duration of the course was extended to five days, the sequence of material reshuffled and thematic clusters rearranged. Some autonomous knowledge units (AKUs) were added and pre-recorded messages and video clips produced.

In the academic year 2020/2021, 285 individuals were trained, which represents an increase of 30 % (63 participants) on the previous academic year, and the biggest annual increase since the creation of the PDT in 2015. This high increase may be partially attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, which forced new mission members to stay in quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in the field, thus allowing them to follow the PDT course online.

The PDT celebrates its 12th online course

In order to further strengthen activities in the area of mission preparedness, the ESDC intends to offer HEAT courses according to the same three principles – predictability, availability and reliability – as of the beginning of next year.