ADVICE & OPINION
FROM THE FRONT
SKILLED TO SUCCEED
In the latest in our series which celebrates the careers of front-line FM workers,
we hear from Kerrie Carrott, Trainee Fire and Security Engineer, EMCOR UK
A couple of years ago, Kerrie Carrott was the
person who organised an engineer’s visit
to carry out fire and security maintenance or
remedial work but she is now the engineer on
site delivering those services.
Carrott began her career working for Garmin as
a customer service apprentice where she provided
technical support to the company’s customers. She
then moved to Adecco where she helped set up the
so ware ordering system for one of its clients.
Following some time abroad, Carrott joined
EMCOR UK, a leading provider of facilities, asset
and workplace management services, as a
helpdesk operator for its fire and security services
division. Carrott would respond to customers’
requests for maintenance and repair work and
would schedule the call outs with the EMCOR UK
engineers and prioritise the work appropriately.
Commenting on her role on the helpdesk, Carrott
said: “Enquiries were dealt with on a regional basis
and I was responsible for organising the call out
schedules for the engineers in the South. With time,
my knowledge and understanding of the various
issues increased and I realised that I’d really like to
work on the practical side.”
At the time EMCOR UK established a fire and
security apprenticeship programme but for Kerrie
the salary was much less than she was currently
earning. However, keen to support Carrott in her
career goals, EMCOR UK arranged for her to do a
job share in her role on the helpdesk – for two days
a week – and then spend the rest of the week as a
10 SEPTEMBER 2021
trainee fire and security engineer.
“This was a great solution for me as it enabled
me to dip my toe in the water and see what the
engineer role was actually like and, at the same
time, I didn’t have to take a pay cut. The trainee
role was also more suited to my experience than
the apprenticeship as, due to my experience on the
helpdesk, I had developed a good understanding of
the types of customer issues that the engineers had
to address.”
A er a few months, Carrott’s role as trainee fire
and security engineer became full time and she
continued to develop both her practical skills
and her theoretical knowledge: “I improved my
practical knowledge by shadowing engineers on
the job and then I supplemented this experience
with theoretical learning from the Fire Industry
Association (FIA).”
FIA TRAINING
The FIA is the largest fire protection trade
association in the UK and runs fire training courses
to help individuals working in the industry to
demonstrate the right competencies, stay up to
date with the latest fire protection standards and to
develop in their careers.
“My practical experience was with a couple of
customers, learning about the maintenance of both
intruder alarms and fire alarm systems. The FIA
training has assisted in combining the necessary
theory with the practical aspects of the role and
has helped increase my confidence to carry out
tasks independently.
“Since November, I have worked at a large site
in the South West of England that carries out
research and development work. There are over
100 buildings and, although COVID has led to a
reduction in the number of people working, the
maintenance of the fire and security systems has
remained as critical as ever and so this work has
continued as it had before.”
To develop her skills further, Carrott undertook
some electrical principles training to better
understand the main principles of electronics.
Normally this would have been a practical course
but due to COVID restrictions the course was run
online.
“I think my experience on the helpdesk has
really helped me to do my job more e• ectively as
I know why it is important to complete and return
the necessary paperwork so that the helpdesk
can close jobs and run necessary reports. I have
a clear understanding of the whole process from
start to finish and I share this information with the
other engineers, so they understand why certain
administrative tasks need to be completed.
“I am always keen to learn and I feel that there
is still much more that I can learn both on the
maintenance side, where my experience has been
so far, but also about the installation aspect of the
business. I am currently expecting my first child
and I am grateful that I have been able to continue
the role during my pregnancy; this is due to the fact
that EMCOR has been eager to carry out regular
health and safety
assessments to
ensure I am safe to
remain at work.
“Where I work, I
am the only female
fire and security
engineer but all
the engineers have
welcomed me into
the fold and are
keen to help me
train and develop.
I knew some
of them from my helpdesk days and so we had
already established a positive relationship.
“I think what I enjoy most about my job is that
I meet lots of people throughout the day. I move
around the site, visiting di• erent buildings, and
speak to people doing all sorts of jobs which I find
interesting. The work is stimulating as di• erent
issues arise that I need to work out and to fix.
“I don’t think it matters whether you are male or
female to do the role but what is important is to
ask lots of questions, to be keen to learn and not
be afraid to ask for help from the other engineers
when you need it.
“I am so pleased that I made the move from an
administrative role to training to be an engineer.
I am especially grateful that EMCOR helped make
this happen as I wasn’t in a position to reduce my
salary to do the apprentice role.
“The future is very exciting for me both personally
and professionally. I look forward to becoming a
mother but I also look forward to returning to a job
that I love.”