Introducing the Building Services Engineering (BSE) Engagement Team

What is Building Services Engineering? It’s a collective term for the essential systems that bring buildings to life—water, electricity, gas, heating, air conditioning, and more. All of these fall under the umbrella of Building Services Engineering, often abbreviated as BSE.

At EAL, we offer a wide range of qualifications in BSE trades. Close collaboration with industry partners such as TESP, ECA, CIPHE, and APHC has shaped our long-standing history of qualifications development. Over the years, we’ve supported apprenticeships, full-time programmes, and continuing professional development (CPD). We've more recently expanded into green skills qualifications including solar technologies, heat pumps, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

It remains more important than ever to ensure that our qualifications meet the evolving needs of learners and industry. This means working in partnership with providers and stakeholders to develop and deliver programmes that reflect real-world skills, upskilling requirements, and technological advancements.

Meeting industry needs

With ongoing policy reform and key sector developments in recent years, our commitment to stakeholder engagement is stronger than ever. We hold the contract for Gen 2 T Levels in BSE and continue to update criteria and associated assessments. This work involves engaging with providers and employers, validating content, and incorporating direct feedback from industry professionals to inform revisions.

Our support goes further: we run regular updates for centres and providers, host online drop-in sessions for feedback and questions, and recently concluded a nationwide series of BSE curriculum planning events—with outstanding engagement throughout.

Meet the team

At the heart of this important work is our dedicated BSE engagement team, comprising four key members:

• Kevin Sparrow – An experienced electrician and our Industry and Portfolio Manager. Kevin leads the team with deep expertise in qualification development. [email protected]
• Andy Beresford – A former gas engineer and plumber with a strong FE background, Andy transitioned from external quality assurance to his current role as Technical Advisor. His understanding of FE proves invaluable when working with tutors and assessors. [email protected]
• Paul Smithies – Our newly appointed Employer Engagement Manager focused on employer engagement for T Levels, Paul brings decades of experience in the electrical industry, including running his own company and delivering education and assessment. [email protected]
• David Pye – David began his career as a heating engineer, with over 14 years’ experience across domestic and commercial plumbing, heating, and pipefitting before moving into FE. After 10 years in college education and 12 years as a Technical Advisor, David joined EAL as a Lead TA. [email protected]

We pride ourselves on maintaining a friendly, collaborative approach to education and industry engagement. We’d love to hear from you—whether you're interested in shaping key educational themes or simply want to catch up on the latest updates in BSE education, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

How to engage with us

• Book a drop-in session at the EAL events page. 
• Contact team members direct on our emails above or email [email protected]
• Take our survey on Low Carbon Heating Engineering.