The course offered valuable insights into a broader range of building types and associated risks beyond what we typically encounter in our day-to-day roles, such as commercial, public, high rise residential buildings and houses in multiple occupation (HMO’s). Engaging with other risk assessors and industry experts also enriched our understanding, as they shared experiences from a variety of building types and working environments. The course content significantly strengthened and re-affirmed our knowledge, particularly around fire safety legislation, and gave us a deeper understanding of its application.

As part of the course, we researched areas that we might not encounter on a daily basis and widened our learning on subjects such as ventilation and sprinkler systems, which expanded our technical knowledge. As a result, we now feel more confident in referencing legislation when communicating with clients, explaining the importance of compliance, risk management, and justifying the need for evidence to ensure legal obligations are met.

Applying our knowledge in a more academic and theoretical context was a shift from our usual practical approach, where reports are written to be easily understood by those without fire safety expertise or competence in this area. Also, adapting to an unfamiliar risk assessment template than the one we use daily challenged us to ensure no critical information was missed.

Managing our workload and family commitments alongside the course work was challenging, but we were well supported from other team members and Senior Management.

As previously mentioned, we now feel more confident referencing legislation and understanding how it applies to the buildings we assess. The course also reinforced that the work carried out by our team is of a high competent standard, often exceeding industry expectations and meets the requirements of a fire risk assessment set out by the industry.

Achieving the qualification has enabled us to upgrade our third-party membership to the highest level of individual membership with the IFSM. As a result, all members of the Arc Fire Team are now recognised as Tier 2 risk assessors on the official IFSM Risk Assessors Register.

Grab every opportunity you can! The qualification has been a great step forward in our development, and we have felt supported by the business. Our team manager and colleagues regularly checked in to ensure our workload remained manageable, and special thanks go to our fellow Fire Risk Assessor Olusegun Botu, who took on additional risk assessments to give us the time we needed to focus on the course.

Ensuring that we were allocated premises to risk assess that were relevant to our studies was also a huge benefit. Having the flexibility and being given time to complete coursework during working hours made a big difference in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This was particularly appreciated when compared to other delegates on the course who were not given this privilege and were having to complete work in their own time at evenings and weekends.