Tall Building Fire Safety Limited approached the SFJ Awards team seeking accreditation of their Tall Building Fire Safety Manager programme through our newly launched Custom Certification service. As one of our first approved centres to come forward for the new bespoke certificate offer, the team at Tall Building Fire Safety blazed a trail by delivering their bespoke learning as a newly registered SFJ Awards centre.
We recently spoke with Russ Timpson, Director at Tall Building Fire Safety to hear how Custom Certification by SFJ Awards has made a difference to their bespoke learning programmes and improved fire safety training for learners:
“Part of the challenge we face as a training provider, are the new UK regulatory frameworks which identify clear duty holders, an accountable person responsible for those ensuring that fire safety and structural risks in buildings are understood.
We needed to ensure we were able to deliver appropriate fire safety training programmes to help navigate the requirements of the UK regulatory frameworks, so learners could harness the skills to take the appropriate steps and actions to mitigate and manage fire risks on an ongoing basis, including the need for employers to appoint a competent building safety manager. Our tailored fire safety training course is targeted at this need and it is relevant for hundreds of people, employers and building managers.
The certificated programme teaches learners how to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and behaviours they need to manage fire risk, as well as to create and maintain the ‘golden thread’ of building fire safety information in unique and complex tall Building scenarios. The programme has been running internationally since 2013, providing much needed support to those working in the tall building environment.
The terrible Grenfell disaster, and other high-risk building fires, has highlighted the need for specific and tailored competences in this area to help tackle incidents and improve fire safety.
Becoming an SFJ Awards approved centre means we can provide a custom certification for learners, providing assurance to them and their employers that they have developed the right skills and knowledge to perform their roles safely.
As the only fire safety programme of its kind for tall building environments, this training is essential and the subsequent certification and qualification for anyone who may take the role of ‘Duty Holder’ is invaluable. Individuals with this SFJ Awards certificated training may be appointed as a competent building safety manager or be required to create or maintain a ‘golden thread’ of building safety information.”
The Tall Building Fire Safety Manager programme was approved by SFJ Awards’ Custom Certification and Quality Assurance team in November 2020, in time for the centre to launch the training in December. With an initial cohort of 10 registered learners, and a further 12 due to start the training, we’re thrilled to be further enhancing the quality of learning for fire safety following terrible incidents such as Grenfell and many more.
Scott Kirkwood, a Fire Safety Advisor undertook the training programme on the first cohort certificated by SFJ Awards, and added:
“The training has definitely helped me get up to speed quickly by going into more detail about vast subjects that I already had knowledge of, however would not necessarily have been able to go into as much detail with, when discussing with a client why certain fire protection measures should be in place. Listening to Russ, and all the guest speakers who delivered the training from Tall Buildings Fire Safety, who are experts in their field and were brilliant, provided very interesting information. Thank you to those who made this programme possible, I really enjoyed the week!”
Russ and the team at Tall Buildings Fire Safety have further learning programmes that will be quality assured and certificated by SFJ Awards, and it’s an exciting time to be delivering such exceptional training for individuals looking to work in the building and fire safety sector.
Russ continued:
“The tall building environment is rapidly expanding as cities worldwide adopt ambitious building programmes. There are few specialists that work in the field and there is a lack of relevant or available qualifications for those looking to professionalise their skills. With new building safety regulations in the UK demanding competence from duty holders we see this as a great opportunity to improve standards and drive safety in an area where it is sorely needed.”
In addition to our existing SFJ Awards accredited programme, Tall Building Fire Safety will also be delivering other bespoke Tall High-Risk Building Level 3 certificates in the future including:
- Fire Safety in High-Risk Residential Buildings
- Fire Safety in Tall Buildings under construction
- Building Safety Bill Higher-Risk Building (HRB) Duty Holder Awareness
As experts in learning and development and quality assurance specialists for fire sector training, our team at SFJ Awards are proud to be able to support a newly approved centre deliver bespoke training and improve skills for fire safety.
If you’re delivering sector-specialist bespoke training, get in touch to see how we can quality assure and certificate your programmes, for improving skills, for better flexibility and for jobs.
