FIA Guide to the UK Fire Safety Industry Competency & Training Feature
minute and moved online to ensure
delegates still received the training
required despite an unpredictable world.
In addition to this, we were tasked with
overcoming last-minute cancellations
from companies. On these occasions,
the FIA always tried to facilitate the
changes that were required.
‘New normal’
The ‘new normal’ for FIA training has
seen us implement a selection of both
online and in-classroom training
options. 24 out of our 28 courses (86%
of them, in fact) are available online as
we continue to migrate our portfolio to
an online platform. We also continue to
develop current courses in addition to
looking at new potential partners to
work with in widening the range of
courses we offer to the industry.
The ongoing challenge for the FIA
will always be in developing and
improving upon the training we offer for
the sector. We acted on this when one
company asked for a specific course.
This then led to the delivery of the Fire
Protection for Electronic Equipment
Installations to BS 6266 course. This is
FIA training at its best: the industry
asks, we listen and produce training that
allows delegates to continue their
journey towards becoming a more
competent fire sector professional.
The Fire Detection and Alarm
(FD&A)-focused qualification courses
continue to be the market leader for the
FIA. At the end of July, we saw the
delivery and registration of these
examinations move across to FireQual
following the sale of the FIA Awarding
Organisation to BAFE. The key part of
this process was to make sure there
wasn’t any disruption to delegates part of
the way through their qualification
process. This was a great success.
The BS 5839-1 Fundamentals in
FD&A qualification is now the ‘go to’
qualification for those looking to cover
this subject matter. With a new course in
place to allow those who’ve qualified to
start the process towards the advanced
qualifications, the FIA provides a
pathway for all delegates, no matter their
degree of experience.
Headline statistics
What, then, do the overall training
figures look like? From 1 September
2020 through until 31 August this year,
three new courses were introduced with
another course being revamped. We’ve
seen 2,879 delegates enrolled on 406
courses, with 135 of them online.
Over 400 individuals studied for one
of the final specialist qualification
examinations, while 834 have taken one
of the ‘Fundamentals’ qualification
examinations. 1,517 delegates have
enrolled for a qualification and 1,555 on
non-qualification courses.
The success of our online training is,
in large part, due to the clear majority of
fire professionals seamlessly moving to
online training with us. This is
testament to their adaptability, resilience
and an overriding passion to learn.
Moving forward, we will look to
provide our industry-leading training in
a classroom, online and in a hybrid of
both that will render learning accessible
to all delegates. As yet, we don’t know
the balance of how we’ll deliver our
training in the future. However, it’s clear
that the industry’s acceptance of online
training continues to allow us to raise
the bar on competency through
delivering world-class instruction by
whatever means necessary.
2022 will no doubt prove to be as
challenging as the last 12 months. At the
FIA, we’re determined to maintain our
place as the leading training provider in
the industry, while also looking to add
more courses, improve the portfolio and
continue to educate and enhance the
knowledge and skills of all fire sector
professionals with whom we interact. •
Michael Gregg is Training Manager at
the Fire Industry Association
(www.fia.uk.com)
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