Buro Happold is best known for delivering some of the most iconic and inspiring projects worldwide. We are an international, integrated engineering consultancy operating in 21 locations worldwide. We are recruiting for a Fire Safety Degree Apprentice to join our friendly and innovative Fire Engineering team, who are involved in a wide variety of challenging and exciting projects.
What is Fire Engineering?
Every building presents unique fire safety challenges. To fully address life safety and design aspirations, your scheme needs a unique, holistic, creative approach to developing a simple, yet robust, fire safety solution.
Our involvement on projects spans from concept to completion, and further, to occupation and continued operational management. Our clients find this level of continued engagement reassuring as we guide them through the life cycle of the building.
For multiple building portfolio clients such as The National Museums of Scotland and University College London, we provide a complete consultancy service. This includes assessing the capabilities of their existing assets, developing solutions for refurbishment projects and advise on the design of new buildings whilst interfacing with multiple design teams and helping the client with their ongoing building management.
We listen and consult to fully understand the design aspirations for a development, and we facilitate these through imaginative and innovative fire engineering techniques, often working beyond the boundaries of prescriptive code guidance.
What sort of projects would I work on?
- 5 Broadgate - At approximately 100,000m2, 5 Broadgate is one of the largest and most robust and resilient single office buildings in London’s financial district. It was also an award-winning trailblazer of sustainability principles, representing the dawn of a new shift towards a consciousness around the importance of considering embodied carbon in commercial buildings.
- Battersea Power Station – Repurposing this historic landmark in to a 21st Century destination where people work, rest and play has required us to take a highly creative approach to the brief and developing bespoke designs that deliver added value to our client, and an iconic facility for the city.
- Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Stadium - This project saw Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s stadium at White Hart Lane replaced by a world class UEFA/FIFA compliant arena. Buro Happold provided multidisciplinary services from concept through to completion.
- Co-Op Live: The new arena in Manchester will have the largest maximum capacity of any indoor music venue in the UK. The goal was for the arena to be among the safest in the world so we developed the design to achieve a high standard of safety while delivering a flexible layout and optimum music experience in a space designed to welcome the best and biggest artists from around the world.
- Everton FC: Bramley-Moore Dock stadium: Buro Happold helped Everton Football Club to create a landmark new stadium that will welcome supporters to be entertained in comfort and safety.
Why join Buro Happold as an Apprentice?
Many engineers who decide to progress through the apprenticeship route find that working during the day on projects whilst attending part time study provides an invaluable experience and enables a work focused programme of learning delivering increased technical skills and behaviours that are invaluable for their career.
Within the fire team you will be guided by your line manager and colleagues (including other apprentices) within a strong collaborative ethos that will enable you to develop your engineering understanding, knowledge and skills by working on a broad range of projects. There are also wider groups such as the Young Employees Forum (YEF) for those at an early stage of their career which provides a wider peer network across the many design, advisory and consulting disciplines that is Buro Happold. The YEF not only organises professional development events but has a wider focus on encouraging participation in voluntary activities and social events.
University of Central Lancashire will provide an excellent programme of study on a block-release format, meaning you will be spending 2 weeks on campus, four times a year. The remaining time, you will be working with the Fire team full time.
For more information on this programme, follow this link
What will I be doing?
- Work with other members of the team to understand and apply fire safety legislation and design guidance in the UK and internationally as part of global project delivery.
- Carry out and review fire engineering calculations including smoke modelling and evacuation analysis from simple hand calculations to complex 3D computational modelling.
- Build knowledge to be able to identify appropriate fixed fire protection systems, i.e. automatic fire detection and/or suppression to support fire engineering design solutions.
- Communicate and present technical solutions to a variety of clients and stakeholders.
- Ensure team members are kept informed of important and relevant service/design decisions.
- Liaise with approval authorities on fire safety designs.
- Demonstrate excellent consultancy skills; Good communication and experience in dealing with difficult situations, negotiation and understanding the differing needs of our clients and within stakeholder groups.
- Visit sites to see how our fire strategies are implemented.
- Represent the company as part of a team by attending design team meetings or meetings with clients and architects
What do I bring to this role?
- A Confident, enthusiastic, proactive and 'can do' attitude.
- A positive and inquisitive approach and the confidence to ask and respond to challenging questions.
What qualifications will I need to enrol?
- UCAS: 104 points at A2 (at least a B in Maths)
- BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM (at least Distinction in Maths)
- BTEC Diploma: D*D in Engineering (at least a Distinction in Maths)
- Pass Access Course: 64 points
- International Baccalaureate Diploma: Pass including 64 points from Higher Level subjects.
- T Level: M including Maths and Physics
- IELTS: grade 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5
- GCSEs: 5 at Grade B/6 including Maths and English or equivalent
What do I get?
- Successful apprentices will graduate with a degree in Fire Safety Engineering (Level 6).
- Mentoring and support to achieve professional status and further industry accreditation.
- Support throughout your apprenticeship: apprentices buddy network, mentoring, young employees forum, structured on-the-job learning plan.
- Understanding and hands on experience of work in the built environment.
How do I apply?
Once you click “apply”, please submit your CV and Cover Letter/Supporting Statement. For your Cover Letter, please outline what has interested in you in this opportunity and Fire Engineering in particular.
Buro Happold is proud to be a practice of a diverse range of professionals that reflects the countries in which we operate. In order to truly benefit from this diversity, we must create an environment in which employees feel they can be themselves. Buro Happold actively promotes inclusivity across the practice to enable every individual to reach their full potential, feeling included is good for all of us. This begins with a fair and inclusive recruitment process which focuses on your skills, competencies and experiences in relation to the role. We recognise and are committed to change the lack of representation of minority groups in our industry, and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals, disabled people and women across all our offices. We understand that through collaboration, diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.
A place for everyone
Buro Happold values an individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of how you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.
Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds, and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don’t have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.
We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing differences allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.
Please let us know if there are any adjustments we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Contact recruitment@burohappold.com so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.
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