Zzeus Training celebrates winning prestigious Fire Campaign of the Year accolade

This latest recognition follows on from high praise delivered by Dame Judith Hackitt, who commended Zzeus Training as a “pioneer” in the field of fire alarm systems training after the company became the first training business to develop and subsequently offer the EAL Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Providing Electronic Fire and Security Systems.

The Building Safety Act highlights the requirement for duty holders to ensure that they’re using competent fire alarm engineers. Prior to its advent, there was no appropriate qualification for mature fire alarm engineers to demonstrate their competency without having to return to college for three years.

However, Tom Brookes (founder and managing director of Zzeus Training and chair of the Fire and Security Association), Andy Reakes (director of growth and development at the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) and Robin Hamill (lecturer at the South Eastern Regional College in Northern Ireland) fought to find a more appropriate solution.

In December last year, Zzeus Training then became the first – and only – training provider to offer the EAL NVQ.

Proving competence

Since its launch, dozens of engineers have registered for the NVQ, with several more qualifying. It’s a remote qualification that proves the level of competence by building an online portfolio of industry experience. Qualified auditors review work evidence and conduct site visits to assess the learners.

Each learner is required to attain eight units, seven of which are mandatory and one elected. The qualification is gained when all of the necessary units for the learner’s chosen pathway have been achieved.

The NVQ costs £1,600, but if the learner has already completed Zzeus Training’s four-day or five-day course, the price of the qualification is substantially reduced to £995.00+VAT.

Tom Brookes stated: “Hearing Dame Judith speak so highly of our company was one of the proudest moments of my life. Winning this latest award from Western Business Media, the publisher of Fire Safety Matters and Security Matters, is simply brilliant. It has been fantastic to see so many engineers begin their journeys towards gold cards with us. We’re committed to maintaining this momentum and focusing on the steady expansion of our NVQ programme.”

*Further information is available online at www.zzeus.org.uk