Stuart Reed's Gold Card Journey

Stuart Reed has been in the Fire System industry for almost 20 years. He is one of the latest to complete the Zzeus EAL Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Providing Electronic Fire and Security Systems, a qualification designed to allow a learner to specialise in fire detection and alarm systems. 

Stuart has spent the last eight years at Spectrum Fire Protection, a company that has evolved over 35 years into a leading engineering company that is certificated to LPS1014 LPS1204 and LPS 1048 third-party schemes. The company can cover mechanical and electrical initial design concepts through to installation, maintenance, and verification of fire and life safety systems for projects of any scale.

Stuart, what did you think of the Zzeus NVQ?

I really enjoyed my experience. It was simple and straightforward, and it gave me my ECS Fire Alarm Technician Gold. After completing the Zzeus training courses, it was the natural next step to complete the NVQ. Three of us at Spectrum have completed the course, and we’re hoping to get another five on as well. The company is very committed to ongoing training.

How long did the NVQ take to complete?

It took us two to three months to complete. Most of the course submissions were done via my mobile—the online portal is so much easier to use than anything else I’ve used before.

So, how did you find the NVQ process?

The online courses are so easy to navigate. With all the courses that I’ve done in the past, a lot of the time, you think, ‘Where am I supposed to start?’  ‘What do I need to do now?’. This isn’t like that; it is very intuitive.

Why did you choose to do the Zzeus NVQ?

For us, it ticks three boxes: it upskills our engineers, provides us all with a very useful qualification for life, and allows us to get our ECS Fire Alarm Technician Gold cards.

So, is a gold card becoming essential for you?

Every week, our cards are checked as we go on-site. You will not be let in if you don’t have your card. They want to know that we have the skill set to manage fire alarm systems, not just the health and safety qualification.

Having your gold card means you can walk into jobs without a problem. Zzeus is the top qualification to prove you’re competent to work on fire alarm systems.

Why did you choose Zzeus?

We’ve done other courses, and Zzeus stands worlds apart, so it was a no-brainer for us.

What was the highlight of your Zzeus NVQ experience?

It was good to meet some of the Zzeus team. Tom visited us to conduct a face-to-face assessment at one of the last stages before qualifying. We’re lucky as we have our own test office, so we can train totally unrestricted without interfering with an operational system. Tom was great, very well prepared, and asked to see proof of my competency via carrying out cause-and-effect calculations and loop loads.

Get your gold card with the Zzeus NVQ here.