Setting standards

by Mark Rowe

In my last piece for Professional Security Magazine, Pat Allen, chairman of the Fire and Security Association (FSA) writes, I talked about the need to promote the security industry to young people and the need to recruit the brightest and best in order to avert a future skills crisis.

It remains a sad fact that very few young people are aware of our industry and the tremendous potential it offers for long and fulfilling careers – despite the efforts of those in the industry to promote the fact. And this is something that needs to be addressed – and quickly – to ensure that we have sufficient numbers coming in at entry-level to prepare for the future.

But we can’t do that unless our industry is recognised for what it is – a specialist branch of engineering. Ours is a fantastic industry that offers limitless possibilities in terms of career potential and it’s one that, I feel, fails to get the recognition it deserves. All too often we’re seen as a specialist branch of another sector, rather than emergency and security engineers in our own right.

That could be about to change if the new European Fire and Security standard (EN16763) is adopted. Currently undergoing a consultation process EN 16763 or ‘Services for Fire Safety and Security Systems’, to use its full name, specifies the general requirements for the minimum quality level of services and competences of staff involved in all areas of designing, installing and maintaining fire and security systems.

If adopted, the standard will apply to any project or company size or structure and covers services provided both on-site and remotely. Hopefully it will provide a level playing field for service providers at European level and will require companies to demonstrate their resource, knowledge, skill and expertise within this sector.
This isn’t a bad thing and ties into some of the work the FSA has been doing with the JIB to review the criteria against which Fire and Security professionals qualify for an ECS card. Business models and practices have changed significantly over the years and we’re keen to ensure that anyone who receives an ECS card is competent by the requirements of today’s standards.

And, if this standard comes into place, we’re going to need to ensure that our apprentices are able to demonstrate these competencies so they start their career on the strongest possible footing. With this in mind, work has started on a submission to the Trailblazer initiative – the Government initiative that sees groups of employers come together to design new apprenticeship standards and assessments to help shape and improve the apprenticeship system in this country.
We need to consider the requirements of the European standard and the skills that employers need to manage and grow their businesses. Working collectively with industry, the employer led group intends to develop a submission ready for Department for Business, Innovations & Skills (BIS) early next year. Developing this submission will have the dual benefit of giving our apprenticeships both a timely review to ensure our trainees are being taught exactly what they need to learn and will strengthen our call for our industry to be recognised in its own right.

It’s a challenging time for our industry and I for one am hopeful the political changes at European and domestic level will allow us to further develop our industry’s public identity and achieve the recognition as specialists that we have always enjoyed in private.

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