Health and safety engineer to fire safety tester
A health and safety engineer already meets 50% of what the fire safety tester role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.2/ 100
1 How much of what a fire safety tester 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 safety tester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A fire safety tester role treats 7 of its required skills as things a health and safety engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct fire tests
- develop material testing procedures
- fire prevention procedures
- fire safety regulations
- fire-fighting systems
- health and safety regulations
What stands in the way is 7 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A fire safety tester 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 15 carried skills, including the 7 the fire safety tester role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 8 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 operate fire extinguishers required
- still to learn wear appropriate protective gear required
- optional, not held maintain safety systems optional
- optional, not held act as contact person during equipment incident optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- still to learn record test data required
- still to learn report test findings required
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- still to learn maintain test equipment required
- optional, not held inspect fire equipment optional
- still to learn organise fire drills required
- still to learn use testing equipment required
- optional, not held pyrotechnic articles legislation optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a fire safety tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 organise fire drills practise this
- 02 maintain test equipment practise this
- 03 operate fire extinguishers 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held conduct fire tests skill
- already held develop material testing procedures skill
- already held fire prevention procedures knowledge
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held fire-fighting systems knowledge
- already held health and safety regulations knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests 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 fire protection engineering knowledge
- already held quality assurance procedures knowledge
- already held test safety strategies skill
- already held write inspection reports skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held maintain safety systems optional
- optional, not held act as contact person during equipment incident optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held inspect fire equipment optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- optional, not held pyrotechnic articles legislation optional
47 held skills the fire safety tester 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 adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role advise on construction materials skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design 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 chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role civil engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct workplace audits skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- 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 draft design specifications 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 engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- 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 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 perform scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role physics 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 properties of textile materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role radiation protection knowledge
7 further entries not listed here
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held pyrotechnic articles legislation optional
Other moves recorded from health and safety engineer
Common questions about this move
Can a health and safety engineer become a fire safety tester?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A health and safety engineer already covers 50% of what a fire safety tester is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 7 of which the fire safety tester role treats as required.
What skills does a health and safety engineer need to become a fire safety tester?
7 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is organise fire drills.
How hard is the move from health and safety engineer to fire safety tester?
Its learning distance is 48.2 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.