Fire safety tester to fire prevention and protection engineer
A fire safety tester already meets 39% of what the fire prevention and protection engineer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.5/ 100
1 How much of what a fire prevention and protection engineer is expected to do is already part of a fire safety tester’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the fire prevention and protection engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A fire prevention and protection engineer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a fire safety tester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct fire tests
- fire prevention procedures
- fire protection engineering
- fire safety regulations
- fire-fighting systems
- operate fire extinguishers
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A fire prevention and protection engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a fire safety tester background worth leading with.
- already held conduct fire tests information skills
- already held fire protection engineering services
- already held determine fire risks information skills
- already held conduct fire safety inspections assisting and caring
- already held operate fire extinguishers assisting and caring
- already held educate public on fire safety communication, collaboration and creativity
All 16 carried skills, including the 6 the fire prevention and protection engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held properties of textile materials optional
- optional, not held civil engineering optional
- still to learn adjust engineering designs required
- still to learn approve engineering design required
- optional, not held teach fire fighting principles optional
- optional, not held prevent fires on board optional
- optional, not held advise on construction materials optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- still to learn prevent fire in a performance environment required
- optional, not held contain fires optional
- optional, not held perform first fire intervention optional
- optional, not held use different types of fire extinguishers optional
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a fire prevention and protection engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 engineering processes study this
- 02 prevent fire in a performance environment practise this
- 03 adjust engineering designs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held conduct fire tests skill
- already held fire prevention procedures knowledge
- already held fire protection engineering knowledge
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held fire-fighting systems knowledge
- already held operate fire extinguishers skill
- already held act as contact person during equipment incident skill
- already held advise architects skill
- already held advise on safety improvements skill
- already held conduct fire safety inspections skill
- already held determine fire risks skill
- already held develop material testing procedures skill
- already held educate public on fire safety skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held record test data skill
- already held test safety strategies skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held install firestops optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held organise fire station optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held install firestops optional
- optional, not held organise fire station optional
- optional, not held teach fire fighting principles optional
- optional, not held contain fires optional
- optional, not held prevent fires on board optional
- optional, not held properties of textile materials optional
- optional, not held advise on construction materials optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held civil engineering optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- optional, not held perform first fire intervention optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
- optional, not held use different types of fire extinguishers optional
14 held skills the fire prevention and protection engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role electricity knowledge
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fire equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain safety systems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain test equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role organise fire drills skill
- not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
- not needed by the target role pyrotechnic articles legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality assurance procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role report test findings skill
- not needed by the target role use testing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
- not needed by the target role write inspection reports skill
12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held properties of textile materials optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held civil engineering optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a fire safety tester become a fire prevention and protection engineer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A fire safety tester already covers 39% of what a fire prevention and protection engineer is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 6 of which the fire prevention and protection engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a fire safety tester need to become a fire prevention and protection engineer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is engineering processes.
How hard is the move from fire safety tester to fire prevention and protection engineer?
Its learning distance is 61.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.