July Round Table - Preparing firefighters for promotion

In July, the Round Table question was: What steps does your department take to prepare future officers?
Out of the 31 responses published, I found the following:
7 Departments used an "in-house" process that involved preparatory classes and a test.
7 Departments required specific college courses followed by a test
6 Departments did as mine did, you studied specific material on your own and then took a test
2 Departments required candidates to "act" in the next higher position
2 Departments required mentoring and or shadowing
2 Departments are in the process of developing a new process
1 Department requires candidates to work on administrative committees
1 Department required self study and then if the candidate passes the test, he or she received additional training
1 Department elected officers
1 required in-house classes and mentoring
1 "other" which was hard to describe

Give me your comments. See you next month. Skip