Bridging the Gap: Why Practical Training Is the Missing Piece in the Fire and Security Industry

In episode 4 of The Blueprint, we spoke to Dr. Tom Brookes, Managing Director of Zzeus Training, who believes that training your fire and security engineers is crucial for compliance and that it won’t be long before the sector becomes more regulated. 

Tom has been working in the fire and security industry for over 30 years, working for Chubb Fire before starting his own company in 2002. That’s when he realised that training for engineers was very basic and left much to be desired, so he started training his own engineers. 

Before long, trade associations were asking him to train other people’s staff, and that’s how Zzeus Training was born.

In conversation with Kyle, Uptick’s Head of Growth for UK and Ireland, Tom discusses what real training looks like and how to motivate your team to embrace training as part of their career.

The illusion of experience

Tom says that until the early 1980s, anyone installing fire systems was a qualified electrician, having completed a 5-year, hands-on apprenticeship as a minimum. But in the 1990s, there was a shift to theory-based qualifications, where there was no practical teaching on how to install and maintain fire systems.

“We’d send guys away on training and they’d come back having not even touched a detector - they wouldn’t know what one was,” says Tom.

“They’d come back with very little knowledge, and it was then left to the other engineers to try and upskill them practically.”

The consequences of this shift in training, Tom says, means that qualified engineers lack real-world capability. 

“Companies are training people, but they’re not getting that extra bit of practical training that they need.”

This growing disconnect between theory and hands-on skill has created a significant challenge for the industry. It’s become impossible to ignore it in the face of increasing scrutiny and rising expectations for compliance.

Why practical training matters now more than ever

A change in public and government sentiment due to disasters like Grenfell has put competency front and centre, according to Tom.

“Grenfell has concentrated people’s minds, and a lot of the fire businesses are now realising that they’ve got to prove that their engineers are competent.

“We all relied heavily on the BAFE Scheme, but that just proves that the company is running an SP203 scheme that [says] that you [install systems] the same way every time, not necessarily that your engineers are competent.”

End users want to see the evidence that you have competent people - they don’t just want to see a logo on a website or certificate. They want proof that the engineer you have sent has the correct qualifications. Kyle discussed how end users are driving transformation in the industry in episode 3 with Jason and Peter from Nimbus. 

Tom agrees with Dame Judith Hackitt, who published the Building a Safer Future report, that competence should be about the individual as well as the company. So it might be time to send some of your more experienced engineers on training courses so you can prove their competence. 

“We get two types of people come to [Zzeus Training]: they’re either fully in industry, for 10, 15, 20 years, and they need a qualification. Those guys want the theory side of it because they’ve got the practical skills.

“But then we get the new starters who have got no practical skills whatsoever. A lot of companies will send them to us and say that they’ve not got any bad habits, so we can show them the recommendations and standards before the bad habits come in.”

However, we know that it’s not always so easy. There’s a huge skills shortage in the fire and security industry, and companies sometimes can’t afford to take their engineers off the road.

“The industry’s so busy at the moment and everybody’s under pressure,” says Tom.

“We recently had a load of guys come to us from one company, but they had to split them up over several weeks because they just couldn’t have five people off the road in one go.”

Kyle suggests that while it can be difficult to manage having your team off the tools, it will have long-term benefits.

“A common theme [throughout the podcast series] has been ‘short-term pain, long-term gain’. You’ve just got to accept that the engineers need the training.” 

What real training looks like

So, if you’ve decided to invest in more practical training for your engineers, what should that actually look like?

At Zzeus Training, the answer is a blend of classroom-based theory and hands-on practical experience. 

“Everybody who leaves our place will wire up a minimum of a non-addressable panel,” says Tom. “And if you're there on the Friday, you're wiring up an addressable panel as well and programming it.”

Even within a short five-day course, Zzeus aims to give engineers the practical skills they need to do their job to a high standard. “We can’t give them everything... but it’s better than what was happening in the industry,” Tom admits.

Tom’s training at Zzeus has helped a wide range of people build successful careers, including a dyslexic student who passed with flying colours, and even someone who was previously homeless. The programme proves that with the right support and structure, anyone can thrive in the fire and security sector.

Whichever training provider you choose, look for a programme that offers a true blend of practical and theoretical skills. It will give your engineers the knowledge they need to carry out their job well and prove to end users that they’re competent.

How to motivate your team to embrace training

If you haven’t offered any training to your engineers in a while, they might feel like it’s a hassle to go on a training course. After all, most engineers do the job because they like being out on the road, not in a classroom. 

But Tom says there are plenty of ways you can get your team motivated to continue their professional development. It starts with identifying where your team has skills gaps, then using training to help your engineers further their careers with your company.

Start with a skills audit

To motivate your team to embrace training, you need a clear picture of where everyone stands. Tom recommends implementing a skills matrix, which is a live document that maps each engineer’s qualifications and competencies.

“You need to audit your guys,” he says. “Internal audits are really important.”

This not only highlights gaps but gives engineers a pathway for growth. Skills matrices can also be used to map out the skills each job role requires, offering transparency to your engineers. If they know what skills they need to work on to progress to the next role, they’re more likely to stay engaged with your business and work towards that promotion.  

Be transparent about expectations

Tom believes that engineers are more likely to embrace training if they understand what’s expected of them and why it matters. With the Building Safety Act assigning accountability to contractors to prove engineer competence, it’s no longer optional. 

“It’s cascading down,” Tom says, “and as the law becomes more solid and more regulations come in, it’ll get tighter.”

Keeping your engineers up to date about changes in the industry and how they might be expected to prove their competence at different levels will help them to understand why you’re sending them on training. It’s not a punishment - it’s to help them, and your company, keep up with an evolving market.

Leverage manufacturer training

Training doesn’t always have to mean spending thousands, and it’s not all about the regulations. Tom says you should take advantage of the free training that most manufacturers provide on their own products.

“I always try to encourage people who come to us to not just do our training on the standards and regulations. Go to the manufacturers.

“Most of them offer free training on their products… Why not get that? It sets you ahead of the competition.”

Tell your customers that you’ve had training direct from the manufacturer of the product. It’ll help instil confidence in your work, and could even win you contracts. 

Share the real-world impact

Visual proof can go a long way. Tom mentions that Zzeus has a poster of poor workmanship in its hallway - done by a now-former engineer - to reinforce the idea that ‘you’re only as good as your worst engineer.’

This helps staff connect their training to real-world consequences - and take pride in doing things right.

While you don’t want to scare your employees into complying with your rules, this is life safety - it has to be taken seriously. Reminding your engineers about the positive impact they can have on people’s safety can help them understand the need for continuous professional development and empower them to move forward in their careers.

So, training isn’t just a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a core part of proving compliance in an increasingly regulated fire and security landscape.

With government scrutiny increasing and legislation like the Building Safety Act making competence verification a legal requirement, you can’t afford not to train your staff.

Certification bodies like NSI and BAFE are also increasing the number of audits they do to examine individual competency. “If it tightens up that way, it will make the industry better,” says Tom.

Don’t wait to be asked to prove your engineers’ competence. Proactively upskill your team, invest in blended training and document everything. It might require some short-term disruption, but the long-term gains for your engineers, your clients and your business are undeniable.