Your Instructor
All course components are conceived, designed, and led by Christian West. With over 30 years of advance work experience for corporate, high net worth and celebrity clients in over 180 countries, West is a uniquely qualified advance instructor and coach. Most of the online and practical portions of this hybrid course bundle are based on West’s own experience from the hundreds of advances he has conducted himself, and even more he has managed that were conducted by agents he has employed or contracted around the world.
Overview Of All Masterclass Components
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Pre-course intro
To begin, the pre-course intro lays out all details of the Masterclass, aligns expectations, and gets everyone on the same page.
This 30-minute online intro must be completed before joining the online course section of the Masterclass.
You are, of course, still welcome to address questions you might have about the Masterclass directly to EP Access after completing the pre-course intro.
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Online course
In the online portion of this hybrid masterclass, Christian West shares lessons learned doing advances for some of the world's most professional executive protection programs.
Going way beyond the checklists taught in traditional EP schools, the 12-hour online portion of this masterclass will take you on a deep dive into the art and science of advances. In addition to professionalizing your advance work, you'll earn certification that will advance your career.
This course is designed for: Executive protection agents who work in positions that include travel with the principal – or aspire to do so – and their team leads and managers.
Key learning goals:
- The why, what, who, how, and when of advances
- The special role of advances in risk mitigation
- Using protective intelligence in advance work
- Structuring and formatting advance reports
Evaluation: To be awarded the certificate of course completion, you must pass all quizzes with an average of at least 80% correct. You may take the quizzes more than once.
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Pre-fieldwork seminar
In this live online seminar, all participants and instructors in the 3-day fieldwork course get together 15 days prior to the fieldwork in order to prepare and make the most of their time together in Las Vegas. Topics will include:
- Short intros to get acquainted with each other
- Briefing for pre-advance assignments, the critical “desk research” done prior to on-location advances, to improve the quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of on-location advances
- Coordination of travel plans, recommendations regarding gear, and squaring away any other practicalities, as necessary
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3-day fieldwork course
In the fieldwork course, participants will put into practice the lessons learned in the online course and use the pre-advances that were briefed in the pre-fieldwork seminar – all under the supervision of and in collaboration with Christian West and assistant instructors.
Simulating the conditions that agents meet doing advances for actual principals, the field section of the masterclass enables participants to learn by doing. They can expect real-time feedback and the occasional curve ball from instructors as they navigate venues, negotiate with stakeholders, and make the best of what they have – just as agents must do in the real world.
Successful completion of the online course is a prerequisite for acceptance to the field workshop.
Key learning goals:
- On-site venue, event, and expeditionary advances
- Advances under time pressure
- Open-source advances
- Site surveys
- Establishing SOPs and other policies and procedures based on advances
- Advance write ups and presentations
- Advance budgeting, manpower and resource management
The fieldwork workshop will be offered two times a year. To ensure personal attention and feedback, the number of participants for each workshop is limited to 18 persons per course.
UPCOMING COURSE DATES: June 7, 8, 9, and November 29, 30 & December 1, 2022
LOCATION: Las Vegas, NV, where we have opportunities for many types of advance exercises, as well as convenient and reasonably priced travel and accommodations options.
Evaluations: All evaluations are based on instructor assessment of performance.
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Sustainment refreshers
Repetition, done right and at the right time, improves learning retention. That’s why this Masterclass includes sustainment training activities, paced every three months, for two years: eight sustainment training sessions in all.
These 30-minute online sessions are designed to re-engage you with the material and make you think once more about many of the key takeaways presented in the online and in-person portions of the Masterclass. They are short enough to be doable for all but challenging enough to make you think hard. Sustainment refreshers are an effective way to reinforce lessons learned and keep skills fresh.
Evaluation & Certificate
To be awarded the certificate of masterclass completion, you must pass all quizzes and individual assessments with an average of at least 80% correct/approved. You may take the online quizzes more than once, but the individual assessments will not be changed: instructors only pass participants they believe can do the job reliably.
Your Investment
$2497, excluding travel to and accommodations during the 3-day fieldwork course. Note: If you have already bought the online course separately, successfully complete it, and later want to take the other portions of the Hybrid Online, In-Person & Sustainment Masterclass, $497 will be deducted from your tuition, reducing the cost to $2000.
