Health and safety engineer to fire prevention and protection engineer
A health and safety engineer already meets 72% of what the fire prevention and protection engineer role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.9/ 100
1 How much of what a fire prevention and protection engineer is expected to do is already part of a health and safety engineer’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 12 of its required skills as things a health and safety engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- conduct fire tests
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- environmental legislation
What stands in the way is 3 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 27 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 health and safety engineer 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 develop material testing procedures information skills
- already held advise architects communication, collaboration and creativity
All 27 carried skills, including the 12 the fire prevention and protection engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 7 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 prevent fire in a performance environment required
- still to learn operate fire extinguishers required
- optional, not held contain fires optional
- optional, not held act as contact person during equipment incident optional
- optional, not held perform first fire intervention optional
- optional, not held use different types of fire extinguishers optional
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held teach fire fighting principles optional
- optional, not held prevent fires on board optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held install firestops optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
1 further area 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 prevent fire in a performance environment practise this
- 02 operate fire extinguishers practise this
- 03 technical drawings study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 27 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held conduct fire tests skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- 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 perform scientific research skill
- already held safety engineering knowledge
- already held advise architects skill
- already held advise on construction materials skill
- already held advise on safety improvements skill
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held civil engineering knowledge
- already held conduct fire safety inspections skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held determine fire risks skill
- already held develop material testing procedures skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held physics knowledge
- already held properties of textile materials knowledge
- already held test safety strategies skill
- already held thermodynamics knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held organise fire station optional
11 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 act as contact person during equipment incident optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held perform first fire intervention optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held use different types of fire extinguishers optional
35 held skills the fire prevention and protection engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to OHSAS 18001 skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to health well-being and safety skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to standards of national and international safety programmes skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role assess ergonomics of the workplace skill
- not needed by the target role assessment of risks and threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out environmental audits skill
- not needed by the target role conduct workplace audits skill
- not needed by the target role design safety equipment skill
- not needed by the target role design strategies for nuclear emergencies skill
- not needed by the target role draw up risk assessment skill
- not needed by the target role educate employees on occupational hazards skill
- not needed by the target role ergonomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate industrial hygiene skill
- not needed by the target role follow nuclear plant safety precautions skill
- not needed by the target role follow up on safety breaches skill
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role human factors regarding safety knowledge
- not needed by the target role install safety devices skill
- not needed by the target role instruct employees on radiation protection skill
- not needed by the target role investigate occupational injuries skill
- not needed by the target role monitor employee's health skill
- not needed by the target role monitor work site skill
- not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan health and safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role prevent health and safety problems skill
- not needed by the target role quality assurance procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role radiation protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role respond to nuclear emergencies skill
- not needed by the target role scientific literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role set safety and security standards skill
- not needed by the target role thermohydraulics knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
- not needed by the target role write inspection reports skill
2 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 technical drawings required
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a health and safety engineer become a fire prevention and protection engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A health and safety engineer already covers 72% of what a fire prevention and protection engineer is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 12 of which the fire prevention and protection engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a health and safety engineer need to become a fire prevention and protection engineer?
3 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is prevent fire in a performance environment.
How hard is the move from health and safety engineer to fire prevention and protection engineer?
Its learning distance is 32.9 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.