BAFE FireQual Ltd has appointed Nic Preston as the FireQual Qualifications Manager as of September 1. Nic has over 14 years of experience in the training and development sector.
His most recent role has been Chief Executive of SFEDI Awards, the awarding body for enterprise development. He has been responsible for their compliance with regulations, and was the Responsible Officer for their systems for learners and training centres.
Nic, pictured, said: “Introducing a range of high quality nationally recognised qualifications for the betterment of fire protection services and staff within the fire safety industry will be a rewarding task. FireQual has huge potential to make the industry safer and demonstrably more competent and I look forward to the challenge this offers. Although FireQual is a new venture, it builds on the vast array of knowledge and expertise within the sector both within BAFE and through our valued external partners who continue to support this new endeavour as we move forward. I welcome the opportunity to work with a range of excellent industry partners, training organisations and their candidates to build new relationships and opportunities as we move forward.”
Stephen Adams, Chief Executive of BAFE, added: “We believe FireQual is being entrusted in very good hands with Nic. His experience will be invaluable in the development of this Awarding Organisation. This is a big opportunity to develop individual skills to ensure that competence remains at the forefront of the fire safety industry. We are pursuing this because we know that it is the right thing to do in the interest of life safety.”
BAFE Fire Safety Register adds that Chris Auger, the BAFE Head of Schemes, has been promoted to Director of Schemes, with responsibility for the organisation and development of schemes, plus quality assurance and complaints management. He will have the day to day support role with BAFE licensed Certification Bodies.
Chris continues to work on the Hackitt Working Groups and others, arising from the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, especially to promote the value of third party certification and competence, which is now BAFE says gaining much stronger traction, with the support of UKAS.
Chris says: “The BAFE Competence schemes continue to grow and develop, with registrations rising even during the lock down period. We are grateful to Companies and Certification Bodies for continuing to recognise the importance of Third Party Certification and finding new methods to ensure compliance. We have a number of new initiatives to support the industry, specifiers and end users and I am delighted to be taking on this role. With the development of FireQual there will also be a genuine prospect to include accredited technician competence into more of our Company schemes, which will be considered by our dedicated Scheme Monitoring Groups. This will consider all appropriate training and qualifications available, not just FireQual. Organisational competency and evidence of individual expertise remains the forefront of this discussion.”
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