A company director has called on fire, emergency and security systems contractors to help develop a ‘clear and cohesive industry perspective’ on the new apprenticeship standard for the sector. Work on the Fire, Emergency and Security Systems Apprenticeship standard is currently in development and a consultation process on the draft plans is now underway.
Employers across the industry are being asked to give their views on areas such as the skills and knowledge requirements for apprentices, length of training and the level at which the apprenticeship is pitched.
Pat Allen, director of Abel Alarm is the lead employer on the Fire, Emergency and Security Systems Trailblazer group and a long-standing supporter of industry skills and training. At the launch of the consultation period he stressed the importance of taking part:
“This Trailblazer Programme provides a unique opportunity for employers of our specialist sector to develop our own apprenticeships and train our apprentices with the skills our industry needs. To do this, we need to hear from as many employers as possible so we can develop a clear and cohesive industry perspective on what we want our apprenticeship to look like,” he said. “I urge any employer to take this opportunity to view and comment on the proposals so we can gather as much feedback as possible before they are submitted.”
The project is part of the Government’s ‘Trailblazer’ initiative, which focuses on employer-designed apprenticeship standards to ensure apprentices’ training and assessment directly meets industry and business needs. Once launched, the new standard will replace the current industry Apprenticeship framework. The standard is designed to be a short, easy to understand document that describes the full level of skill, knowledge and competency required for the occupation
A Trailblazer Employer Group comprising 13 fire and/or security companies has developed the draft standard. The group, led by Pat Allen as chair, comprises: Abel Alarm Company, Chubb Fire & Security, Christie Intruder Alarms, AAI Security, CSL DualCom, Kings Security Systems, Secom, Wessex Fire and Security, Banham, BDS Fire, Pointer, Stanley Security Solutions and Amalgamated.
SummitSkills is providing secretariat and coordinating the project, which is supported by a wider stakeholder group comprising BAFE, Chichester College, Electrical Assessment Services UK, Fire Industry Association, Fire Protection Association, Fire & Security Association, Gloucester College, JTL, Mercury Training Services, Security Industry Training Association, Skills for Security, Spiral Training, Swansea Council, Tavcom and Unite the Union.
The consultation opened on 13th April and runs until 24th April. Once all feedback has been collated a final version of the standard will be submitted to Government in June before work starts on the apprenticeship assessment plan. Once approved, the new apprenticeship should be delivered from 2016 onwards.
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