My name is Jonathan Cherins and I am the CEO of Vector Solutions, having been with the company since January 2022.
Previously, I had been in and out of high-tech SaaS companies for the last 25 years.
I worked with Vector’s owners many years ago at a travel hospitality company called TravelClick and stayed really close with the owner company Genstar Capital.
When I was looking for my next opportunity a few years ago, Genstar had just acquired Vector from a different firm and so I joined as CRO before becoming CEO in May of 2022.
Our platform in the public sector and particularly in the fire industry is a product called TargetSolutions, which is much more than a learning management system.
We are not just providing training to firefighters, but it is a true system of records management.
For us, we wanted to enable our customers to do their jobs in the communities and get the required training that they need, all while being able to work cohesively with record management.
Jonathan Cherins
Departments need to provide compliance solutions and training certifications to different governing bodies and this can all be done within the TargetSolutions ecosystem.
We are able to handle compliance and training, schedules, and evaluations for firefighters to manage issues such as PTSD.
For us, the ability to be in market with Target allows our customers to do all the things they need to do in an administrative capacity.
This enables them to spend most of their time as firefighters in the community, where they can focus on saving lives knowing they have the training to do their jobs effectively and most importantly, protect themselves and stay safe.
There are about 5,000 different fire departments that use TargetSolutions and we have been in this space for 25 years.
We are not a training company that happens to offer training to fire departments- it is a part of our DNA and who we are as a company.
Jonathan Cherins
We offer a solution to firefighters struggling between balancing applications to figure out their training, schedules and potential shift swaps.
Rather than wasting time, we enable firefighters to focus on fighting fires.
Administrative burdens take up so much time, so being able to manage everything in one ecosystem and record helps to maintain consistency.
We work with fire departments directly- the people that help us in our content and accreditation department are former firefighters.
As a company, we don’t just “drop in” and offer a one-off solution; we live and breathe fire safety.
We have over two decades of building trust, hence why we have such high ownership of the market.
We are embedded into departments who give us feedback, which then drives our road map.
The DNA of the company is its software and people, which helps to maintain these relationships with departments over time.
Effective training allows disparate organizations who come from diverse backgrounds to speak the same language.
We all can have the same base knowledge of what our equipment looks like and how it is operated.
Training scenarios are also incredibly important- so it is not just the content training built by firefighters, but it is also the situation.
Awareness like this only happens after a long day of fighting fires.
I say this a little bit tongue in cheek- firefighters love to train.
When a firefighter is in a unique scenario, it makes their training much more real than a traditional classroom with pen and paper or learning on a screen.
Jonathan Cherins
Situational training also reinforces a culture of accountability and safety. The last thing anybody wants is for something to happen as a result of incorrect training.
Firefighters thrive off of a culture of continuous improvement, so I think this is what really separates us in the training capacity.
This is alongside the additional layers we offer of being able to organize their schedules and, manage their inventory and PPE.
We are able to create a very easy place for a firefighter to operate so they can focus more on what matters the most- coming home at the end of the day.
I don’t think it’s any different to you or I getting performance reviews- I just think the stakes are higher.
Training provides leaders with real- time data on the readiness of their teams.
Not all fire departments are small; some are in large municipalities or cities and are pulled in a lot of different directions.
They face everything from a five-alarm fire to helping someone get out of bed.
Tracking training helps people to be successful at their jobs and prevents them from being put in situations where they have to make up what to do.
Jonathan Cherins
We are able to help detect the patterns and offer an understanding of where certain departments or certain leaders are maybe falling short of a certain skill level.
I always think of this like a closed loop- if there is an incident then that will drive what training needs to happen. The results of the training give the leaders of a departments a picture of the readiness of their team.
This will allow for some people to go back into the field whereas others will go into training to upskill. It’s a full circle.
People are going to make mistakes, these things happen; the focus is on remediating a lack of training or exposing an individual to a situation or scenario so that they can get the right training at the right time.
This is especially important for firefighters.
Because the stakes are so high, it is critical that the leadership team has visibility on the skills and weaknesses of each individual.
When performance levels go up, then lives are saved and more people go home to their loves ones at night.
It’s not to belittle my performance review or yours, but nobody gets hurt if you or I don’t do our jobs effectively. For firefighters, the stakes are incredibly high.
The Vector Cares courses are not going to be number one on first responders’ list of mandated training, but I think it has shown the fire and safety community how we are going to be there to support them in all aspects.
We have made sure people know that not everything is about dollars and cents, our company puts people first.
There is a lot of stress in the system, as well as tragedy.
It’s not just knowing how to prevent a fire, but managing to get out of bed the next day and thrive.
As a human being, it can be difficult to get back on the horse when you are carrying the weight of your job.
The fact we can provide PTSD, mental health and physical health support shows that we don’t just work in a commercial proximity.
Jonathan Cherins
The program is called Vector Cares, which is well named because we do.
It’s important that we balance community needs and the wellness of our customers with the economic relationship we have with so many departments.
This year is Vector Solutions 25th anniversary, what impact have you seen the company have on fire and safety professionals?
I have been at the company for nearly four years and I am still blown away by the relationships we have with the fire and safety community.
We have been there in the trenches with everybody for the last 25 years, and now there are 22 million people that take our courses every year- including professions other than fire.
I say this all the time, but there are many places where you can work and make a nice living and then there are roles where you could be completely giving back to the community in a volunteer or non-profit company.
Jonathan Cherins
Vector sits at this intersection between community service and profit.
We are so lucky to have been able to serve these communities for as long as we have.
It’s a wonderful mix of being able to have a career that you are proud of and that you can share with your family, alongside giving back to the community.
At Vector, we have the awareness that we are not just working on another software application or piece of AI to make money, but instead this is a company with a purpose and mission that is incredibly rewarding.
I couldn’t be luckier to be the leader of this company. I love what I do.
