Are you looking to start a new career as a Fire Alarm or Security Engineer? This page aims to provide some general information for anyone starting out. We hope you find it useful. If so, please follow us on social media. We hope to help you in the future.

Whilst we sometimes recruit for trainee engineers with 6 months or more of experience, approaching a local company for an apprenticeship is a good way to start. This provides hands-on experience whilst you gain your qualifications (see below). Skills for Security is a not-for-profit organisation that provide a Fire and Security apprenticeship programme for participating employers.

Many companies advertise their apprenticeship schemes online. To start your search, here are some examples:

• Honeywell Gent
• Optyma
• SECOM
• Tyco

Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list, or an endorsement of the apprenticeships offered by the companies listed. If you have had a good experience on a different apprenticeship, or your company offers a scheme that you would like us to add here, please email alison@eleysolutions.com.

Training and Qualifications

Here are links to some of the nationally recognized qualifications in the industry.

• FIA certified qualifications (Fire)
• City & Guilds (Security)
• NSI training (Fire and Security)

  We hope you find the posts in this blog helpful. If you are a Fire &/ or Security Engineer and are looking for a more rewarding role, then contact our team today. We work hard to match candidates with the right companies and roles for them. This is a completely free service, and we are here to help if we can.

There are some things that all good Fire & Security companies have (e.g., respect for their employees, NSI approval). But beyond that, no two companies are the same. The right workplace environment, company size or work structure for one person will be wrong for someone else.

Within a single company, role-specific factors can also be seen as either benefits or disadvantages depending on your perspective. Maybe you want to work locally, travel less and be home in the evenings, or maybe you want extra overtime and callout to boost your earnings. Maybe you're looking for training and progression, or maybe you're happy in the role you do currently.

On Wednesdays, we'll be posting about/ linking to other people's posts on company culture. We'll also blog about training, since it's an important topic for a lot of people looking to get into the industry or progress.

We work hard to match people with the right companies and roles for them - the ones that fit. To do this, we listen, ask questions and try to get a picture of what matters. We don't promise interviews or send a candidate's CV out if we don't think the fit is right, even if the role is a "good" one.

We hope you find the posts in this blog helpful. If you are a Fire &/ or Security Engineer and are looking for a more rewarding role, then contact our team today. We work hard to match candidates with the right companies and roles for them. This is a completely free service, and we are here to help if we can.

Think of (only) 3 or 4 examples of experience and skills to discuss before you go. Don't rely on your brain to think of them during the interview.

To help you remember:

• Write detailed examples down on a piece of paper.
• Break it down into small things: what was involved, the problems that you solved, what you learnt from it, what went well.

  In the interview itself, give yourself time to structure your answer. Having concrete examples to hand should make this much easier, and avoid the ums and errs.

Chances are that you will be asked this question. The crucial thing is to show that you’re enthusiastic and want to do the job. It also gives you the opportunity to learn more about the company and the role. Here are some examples for inspiration.

• When I was looking at your website, I saw ….. [Insert follow-up question here: ask about the company, e.g., the clients they work with, the technology they use,…] This shows that you’ve done your research and care about the role.
• How would I be measured or assessed? When would my first review be? E.g., measured by no. of jobs for an engineering role; no. of people hired as a general manager. This will give you an indication of how organised the company is.
• Is there any standard training for employees? Is there any stand-alone training you would see me doing in the first 6-12 months? Shows that you're keen to learn. Lets you check that everyone is trained to a certain level and gives a time-frame for your own training.

And to close the interview...

• Tell them you're enthusiastic and want to do the role. Otherwise, how will they know?
• Ask if they have any questions or concerns about your ability to do the role. This gives the interviewer a chance to check things they are unclear about/ cover any doubts. From a candidate's perspective, it gives you an opportunity to address these concerns.

We hope you find the tips in this blog helpful. If you are a Fire &/ or Security Engineer and are looking for a more rewarding role, then contact our team today. We work hard to match candidates with the right companies and roles for them. This is a completely free service, and we are here to help if we can.

Fire Alarm Engineer - West London Middlesex Surrey Berkshire - Career Job 1399

Great opportunity for Fire Alarm Engineer to service and commission Fire alarm systems in the West London and West M25 areas such as Middlesex, Berkshire and Surrey.

The Company hiring have completed large Installations on Commercial Projects and require you, a Fire Alarm Engineer, to service and commissioning Fire Alarm systems to keep them up to working and required standard

As a Fire Alarm Engineer you will service and commission on sites around the West London, Reading and Slough areas so will not go far and wide, but will be paid door to door travel time

BENEFITS

 - £30,000 -35,000 Basic with Earnings on top 

 - Low callout - only 1:12 Callout

 - Travel time on top of hours worked

 - Company vehicle - Choice of Car or Van

As a Fire Alarm Engineer you will be working on sites such as Factories, Shopping Centres and Office Buildings and will have at least 3 years' experience as a Fire Alarm Engineer in the UK or FIA/ BS5839  Training.