Officially sanctioned workplace learning is on the increase. In the workplace, and particularly in emergency response contexts, success with workplace learning is an unquestioned goal. In order to achieve this goal, many workplaces follow the general model of partnering trainees with more experienced personnel. This is the most salient feature of an Australian state's police probationary 12-month operational training programme, known as the First Year Constable Programme. This paper analyses the perceptions, constructions and understandings of 13 police trainers in a regional headquarters of a state police service, considering some important aspects of first year constable training. The data illuminated a group of police trainers who enacted their own experiences of being trained as a basis for how to approach training. The participants' reports varied in terms of what was regarded as important to promote during training, and the participants seemed to derive little direction from training policy or established and mandatory workplace competencies. The paper argues that these officers operated with a skewed application of the cognitive apprentice model of teaching. It shows, for example, that scaffolding in a relatively chaotic environment is highly problematic. Several implications for workplace training in emergency response settings are highlighted, particularly in the area of how the training is being coordinated and how practice is being shared and improved. © 2014, © 2014 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
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