National Occupational Standards - Introduction

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) has been providing training in the fire safety field for over 30 years and we pride ourselves on our adaptability and ability to respond quickly to changes in training requirements.

With the introduction on National Occupational Standard in Fire Safety (NOS), followed by National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in Fire Safety, the FPA responded with the development of a series of modular training courses that provide associated underpinning knowledge related to fire safety, fire engineering and fire risk assessment. The huge popularity of these courses over the last three years has in part been due to the modular approach which allows you to extend and increase your level of knowledge to meet nationally recognised standards at a pace that suits you.

These courses are widely applicable to all with responsibility for the fire safety of buildings, from safety managers to those involved in enforcement activity and audit against legislative standards.

2008 sees some new additions to the NOS series as well as some changes to the existing NOS courses.

New for 2008 are:

NOS 3.4 Approved Document B Refresher/Update

NOS 4.3 Evidence and Prosecution in Practice

We have also changed the way in which all of the NOS courses titles are coded, to enable you to more easily identify the level of the course.

Role descriptors

The National Occupational Standard (NOS) describes fire safety roles in terms of ‘advisor’, ‘manager’ and ‘engineer’. The N/SVQs demand an increasing level of both fire safety knowledge and managerial skills from one role to the next. However, the training provided by the FPA relates to fire safety knowledge rather that managerial responsibility.

The courses described in this document have been derived from the knowledge requirements of the various levels of National Occupational Standard. Candidates should select courses based on the content of the course and their own personal development needs, rather than on the basis of the N/SVQ role descriptor.

To deliver the fire safety knowledge requirements of the ‘advisor’ and ‘managerial’ levels, the Fire Protection Association has developed a series of training modules which vary in length from one to five days.

Candidates will also only need to attend the training courses which are required to meet their own personal development needs.

National/Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Fire Safety - Fire Engineering

An additional three modules are available for those wishing to further their knowledge of fire safety engineering and the development of fire engineered solutions for buildings.

The NOS in fire engineering has yet to be developed. As a result the FPA has produced fire engineering courses based primarily on the current British Standard BS 7974, 2001, which covers the practical application of fire engineering. 

Further information

If you would like any further information, please contact the FPA's training co-ordinator on +44 (0)20 8884 4050.

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