Engineers of Tomorrow competition looks ahead to 2021

The highly regarded IFSEC Engineers of Tomorrow competition has been postponed this year, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and in line with the rescheduling of host event, IFSEC International. 

The annual competition, where the next generation of security and fire apprentices demonstrate their skills was set to be a highly competitive event once again this year. The final for the fire competition takes place at IFSEC International, while the security apprentices compete at IFSEC for a chance to participate at the heralded WorldSkills UK Live (which has been moved to 2021).

Organisers and stakeholders have, however, made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s event to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved. Preparations have already begun for 2021, with a focus on making the competition bigger and more engaging than ever and registration is now open for entries!

Next year’s security and fire competitions will once again take place at IFSEC International, which has also been rescheduled to 12=14th July 2021.

Dates to keep in mind for next year are currently as follows:

• Regional competitions for both security and fire will run between February and July 2021
• Winners will then go on to compete at Engineers of Tomorrow, which will take place at IFSEC International in London, between 12-14^th July
• Preparation boot camp in August 2021 for the security WorldSkills finalists
• WorldSkills UK Live will take place in November 2021
• All finalists for security and fire will be announced at the Security and Fire Excellence Awards 2021, on 23 November 2021

David Scott, Managing Director of Skills for Security, commented: “Unfortunately, in light of the current circumstances regarding the pandemic, this year’s WorldSkills UK competition and Engineers of Tomorrow have now been postponed until next year. The sponsors, partners and stakeholders would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who entered for their hard work and efforts over the last year.

“The decision to postpone was not one we wanted to have to make, but safety and wellbeing is a priority. This year would have been the first-ever, national final competition and with over 65 competitors entered, it was set to be a fierce contest.

“Preparations are already underway for next year, however, and we are positive it will be bigger, better and more competitive than ever before! We look forward to welcoming the next generation of engineers back to our regional competitions, the Engineers of Tomorrow heats at IFSEC and WorldSkills UK.”

Trevor Jenks, National Training Manager of the SSAIB, added: “This year had also seen the new fire competition attract apprentices taking part in the regional fire heats. We look forward to an even larger regional competition next year, with fire apprentices fighting to secure a place in the Engineers of Tomorrow final competition at IFSEC 2021.”

Chris Edwards, Group Director of IFSEC and FIREX International, also added: “Engineers of Tomorrow has a rich heritage of showcasing the very best fire and security engineers coming through apprenticeship programmes. Whilst the heats demonstrated that this quality continued to be as strong as previous competitions, the lack of being able to offer a safe and controlled environment for the finals have meant that continuing with this year’s EoT became impossible.

“We look forward to welcoming applicants to next year’s programme and are working hard on additions to the format that will ensure we can operate with the new challenges we’re all facing to make it bigger and better than ever.”

The stakeholders involved in the IFSEC & FIREX Engineers of Tomorrow competition are Skills for Security, CSL, NSI and SSAIB, with support from BAFE, BSIA, FIA and Texecom Academy.

Registration for the 2021 competitions are now open!

Details to register for next year’s security and fire competitions can be found via the link below, and keep an eye on IFSEC Global for the latest news regarding Engineers of Tomorrow!

Engineers of Tomorrow helps to raise the profile of engineering apprenticeships and the opportunities they represent within the sector. Taking place at IFSEC and FIREX International each year, winners of regional heats compete in a live installation challenge at the show, where over 34,000 visitors are in attendance. In addition, the winners of the electronic security competition will proceed to the final of WorldSkills UK LIVE, the nation’s premier skills, apprenticeships and careers event.

Stakeholders involved in the IFSEC & FIREX Engineers of Tomorrow competition include Skills for Security, CSL, NSI and SSAIB, while additional support comes from BSIA, FIA and Texecom Academy.

Watch the 2019 Engineers of Tomorrow winner interviews

In addition, a number of manufacturers have demonstrated their own commitment to the event. As part of a three year commitment to the highly respected competition, Hikvision, Texecom and CSL have all donated equipment to be used in the heats, whilst Advanced and Apollo – both part of the Halma Group – have donated products for the fire challenges.

Winners are also invited along to the Security & Fire Excellence Awards for free where they are applauded by the rest of the industry.

You can keep up-to-date with Engineers of Tomorrow via the EoT twitter account: @EoTIFSEC