Europass
Curriculum Vitae
Personal information
First name(s) / Surname(s)
Nationality
Nick Brennan
UK
Occupational field International Project Management
Work experience
Dates
Occupation or position held
2013 to Present
Project Manager (80%)
Managing a project funded by the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme of the EU for the
London Fire Brigade and Ghent Municipal Fire Brigade, Belgium investigating innovation in
sustainable fleet and fire service vehicles.
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
London Fire Brigade
Public Body
2009 to 2013
Project Manager (20%)
Managing Erasmus Lifelong Learning project to develop a psychology network across 32 European
partners. I managed this project directly responsible for financial management and coordinating a
team delivering international conferences for the 32 partners in the UK, Turkey and Lithuania; drafting
research reports providing a cross-country analysis of teaching methods, Bachelor-Masters
qualifications and quality assurance; and writing project newsletters to all partners and wider groups
including professional associations and employers groups.
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities
University of York
University
2007 to Present
Company Director
Established as a freelance consultant to deliver project management assignments in the vocational
education and training field, write bids and undertake research in education and training.
Specific assignments have included:

Evaluating Leonardo Mobility and Transversal Study visit applications on behalf of the UK
National Agency of the Lifelong Learning Programme.

Undertaking research of the construction training and education market in ten countries at
vocational and higher education levels on behalf of the College of Estate Management in the
UK.

Researching the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme in 15 countries on
behalf of the education sector market researchers i-graduate. Comparing IB MYP
qualifications with domestic provision, researching national recognition of IB MYP and
delivering a comparative analysis of IB across the 15 countries.

Researching construction sector qualifications on behalf of the ETF for the Transparency
and Comparison of Occupational and Qualifications Standards – Benchmarking Sectoral
Practices Across the Euromediterranean region project (Countries include Italy, France,
Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan). This work involved drafting learning outcomes-
based construction sector qualifications, occupational profiles and qualifications using the
EQF as a tool to map common construction sector qualifications, specifically mapping
bricklayer occupation against the ETF KSC tool.
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities

Researching vocational teacher training qualifications from Europe, Australia and South
Africa on behalf of Standards Verification UK and providing comparative analysis reports of
the VET systems.

Delivering final report and supporting the development of a benchmark table for construction
trade qualifications for the Leonardo Pathways to Skills Project to undertake a comparative
analysis of construction qualifications, skills, training and competencies in different Europe
countries.

Bid Management for University of Edinburgh: Supporting the University to write a successful
tender for a TOI project to design specific e-learning language materials for skilled
technicians with 7 European partners. Bid management for EC LLP: Written a number of
tenders and studies for Lifelong Learning projects including developments of European
Qualifications Frameworks; Leonardo mobility project for construction apprentices and
Leonardo Transfer of Innovation opportunities on behalf of Bedfordshire Chamber of
Commerce.

Writing EOIs for City & Guilds: Wrote expressions of interest for EC PHARE vocational
education and skills projects in Turkey, Romania and Egypt.

Undertaking European study visits through the LLP programme to Poland, Denmark, France
and Belgium
Delavale Project Management
Education sector consultancy
2007 to Present
Retained Fire Fighter
Community fire fighter working on call for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.
Trainer on the GFRS Community Firescape programme; working with difficult and disadvantaged
young people through fire safety training to raise their self esteem, confidence and job skills.
Name and address of employer
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Waterwells, Gloucester
2006 - 2007
Project Operational Manager
Successfully selected international consultancy team, wrote project proposal and delivered this €1.3
million EC Phare Project to upgrade vocational qualification standards on behalf of the Ministry of
Labour.

Undertook a comparative analysis of European vocational training and methods of
assessment in ten countries

Prepared and delivered the final report of project findings, outcomes and activities

Published training handbooks offering guidelines in monitoring VET; curriculum development
and assessing vocational competences

Provided recommendations for upgrading vocational educational framework

Upgraded 80 vocational qualification standards in Electronics and Automation; Chemical
Products and Technologies; Production and Processing; Tourism and Services and;
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Trained 2000 teachers, inspectors and employers in VET
UK NARIC, Project Office, Sofia, Bulgaria
Vocational Education and Training
2004 - 2006
Divisional Manager, Projects’ Group
Main activities and responsibilities
UK NARIC provides specialist advice and educational services through electronic databases,
consultancy and development.
Responsible for managing a team undertaking research into qualification systems and VET for
inclusion in reports and databases and delivering national and international consultancy work.
Specific assignments included:
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector
Dates
Occupation or position held
Main activities and responsibilities

Turkey Education Research Visit: Undertook in country visit to Ministries of Education,
Labour and Higher Education to gather information about the education structure and
qualification system

Kenya and Uganda Education Research Visit: Undertook visits with British Council to
Ministries of Education and higher education bodies on a research project as part of the UK
government PMI initiative to encourage students into UK vocational and higher education.
Visit involved gathering data on the qualification system, education providers and structure.

Undertook information visits to publicise Europass and the Mobility Instruments.
2000 - 2004
Editorial and IT Manager
Manager of editorial team producing education databases.

Development of databases involving research into education, training and qualification
systems and competencies throughout the world

Undertaking outcomes based analysis, mapping and credential evaluation, recognition and
comparison of qualifications from different countries

Undertaking study visits to a number of countries including Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal,
Lichtenstein and Belgium

Writing country reports outlining education developments, qualification frameworks,
competencies and certification systems

Project Manager for international data gathering project, co-ordinating programme of
international visits to education ministries in 30 countries gathering new information on
education and qualifications and writing the follow up reports
UK NARIC, Cheltenham, UK
Educational Consultancy
1996 - 2000
Business Development Officer
International company undertaking consultancy projects in institutional development
Member of public sector reform team. Responsible for marketing reports, writing letters of interest,
managing client database, staff newsletter and providing cover in international offices when required.
Specific assignments included:
Name and address of employer
Type of business or sector

AFDB visit to Egypt as a Crown Agents delegation to deliver marketing support and French
interpretation

UK and South Africa 1999-2000: Management support for two DFID education projects in
South Africa. Based in the UK providing management support, financial control and
assistance to project team in the field.

Tanzania Crown Agents Representative 1998: Provided temporary management cover for
Crown Agents' office in Dar-es-Salaam. Managed a local team of staff to ensure that
projects were delivered; expedited payments, undertook marketing visits and met senior
government representatives.
Crown Agents, Sutton, Surrey, UK
International Development
Education and training
Dates
Title of qualification awarded
2007
Prince2 Practitioner
Principal subjects/occupational skills
covered
Name and type of organisation
providing education and training
Dates
Title of qualification awarded
Principal subjects/occupational skills
covered
Name and type of organisation
providing education and training
Dates
Title of qualification awarded
Principal subjects/occupational skills
covered
Name and type of organisation
providing education and training
Professional Project Management
APM
1995 - 1996
Master of Arts in International Business
International business, project management, marketing, public relations, finance, management
ESC Rennes, France
1992 - 1995
BA Honours Corporate Communication
Business, finance, marketing, public relations
Southampton Solent University, UK
Personal skills and
competences
Mother tongue(s)
English
Other language(s)
Self-assessment
Understanding
Speaking
European level (*)
Listening
Reading
French
C1
C1
Spoken interaction
C1
Writing
Spoken production
C1
C1
(*) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
Organisational skills and
competences

Full Member of Association for Project Management

PRINCE2 Project Management Professional
Technical skills and
competences

MS Project, Access, Log Frame Matrix

Extensive understanding of World Bank, DFID and European projects and procedures

Expertise in different international education systems, qualification frameworks and learning
approaches

Experienced credential evaluator
Additional information Relevant Reports and publications include:

Comparative analysis of the construction and real estate markets and training provision in
10 countries on behalf of the College of Estate Management (2011)

Final Report for Leonardo Pilot Project “Pathways for Skills Transfer” to benchmark
construction sector qualifications from different European countries (2009)

Presentation to the National Agency for the Pathways for Skills Transfer project to
benchmark construction sector qualifications from different European countries (2009)

Final Report for EC Phare Technical Assistance under Service Contract for Upgrading of
Vocational Qualification Standards Taking into Account Best Practices in EU member states
under Phare 2003 BG 2003/004-937.05.03 “Vocational Qualification” Project (2006)

Presentation to an audience of university administrators and international officers on the
Europass Instruments (UK National Europass Centre) (2006)

Presentation to the UK NARIC Annual Conference on the UK Government policy to increase
international academic and vocational student mobility to the UK (2005)

Presentation to the UK NARIC Annual Conference on European data gathering and
research methodology for education and qualifications (2004)

Editor of UK NARIC “International Comparisons” database of education and qualification
systems (2000-2006)