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THE LAST few years have seen more action and investment by Government and employers in the UK to improve training and skills development across all sectors. In England, for instance, a Government strategy – still in its early stages – seeks to provide a demand-led skills system to better meet the needs of individuals and employers.
Against this background, the fire sector is currently engaged in a broad range of initiatives to build up levels of training and competence – and much of this work is taking place amid the mesh of National Occupational Standards (NOS) and vocational qualifications.
The Fire and Rescue Sector Vocational Standards Group, for example, is working to develop a qualifications framework for the fire service that addresses both technical knowledge and practical demonstration of workplace performance.
There is a strong focus in the fire service on qualifications covering practical competence but, as is argued in this month's edition, more vocational qualifications should be made available on the theory side to ensure there is a proper benchmark for underpinning knowledge.
Another concern relates to training and competence in the fire trades, particularly for fire systems installers. There are fears that a skills gap is opening up in this sector which, tied to an ongoing decline in the number of skilled workers, could lead to serious problems in the long term.
That said, there is much positive work going on in this area, especially with the review of the NOS for fire and security systems installation and the qualifications and the apprentice frameworks stemming from it.
The value of training is also scrutinised in this month’s edition. With many owners and managers in small and medium sized businesses having only limited experience in fire safety, effective training in risk assessment and general workplace safety is key. There are, however, concerns that some firms may be cutting corners on the training front, and that some of the training material available is too generic and does not address the risks of the particular business or specific job functions.
Various concerns and areas of debate then, but it’s clear that the fire community is making a valuable contribution to the Government’s skills agenda – and equally that the continued push for effective training and competence across the sector must be supported by a broader sense of vision, long-term commitment and adequate resources.
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