Over 6,000 employees in the waste and recycling sector face not being certified as technically competent to perform their respective roles after the certification body WAMITAB claimed there had been a slow uptake of the test required to update their existing accreditation.
Failure to bring their accreditation up-to-date could see the Environment Agency prevent them from continuing in their role from March 1 2011.
The Waste Management Industry Training and Accreditation Body (WAMITAB) jointly runs a waste technical competence system with the waste sector trade body, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).
The scheme, which came into effect in January 2009, was one of two systems approved by the Environment Agency to take over the existing statutory system of Certificates of Technical Competence (CoTC) and Environment Agency assessment.
Under the CIWM/WAMITAB competency test, operatives who currently possess a CoTC need to sit a continuing competency test by March 1 2011, which would bring them up-to-date with changes in regulations and legislation.
The continuing competency test takes the form of a two-section, multiple choice exam, with the first half focussing on ‘generic' elements of competency and the second looking at more specific areas, such as landfill, transfer and waste treatment.
Uptake
It seems like people, being human, think if I put my head in the sand, maybe it will go away
Sue Wright, business development manager, WAMITAB
Sue Wright business development manager at WAMITAB, told letsrecycle.com that two years after the deadline for the tests was announced there had been a relatively slow uptake among waste and recycling employees.
She said: “We are reckoning that it is around 7,000 workers [required to take the test]. At the moment, we think about only 500 have done the continuing competency. It seems like people, being human, think if I put my head in the sand, maybe it will go away.”
“We are just trying to encourage them and it is hard because it is clear that people will wait until January. But there is not the capacity to deal with that amount of people. It is not like this is new, we have been promoting it for two and a half years.”
Ms Wright explained that WAMITAB had been attempting to highlight the need for required operatives to take the test since it was announced in 2009 and worked with trade associations to develop a continuing competency syllabus and put practice exam questions online.
And, Ms Wright added that workers that pass the continuing competency test in 2011 will not need to sit it again until 2013, as it comes in two-year blocks. “We need to make sure everyone is competent for their role because we don't want to be in a position where we are not giving people the chance to be,” she said.
Application
The continuing competency test applies to workers in England and Wales who received their CoTC before December 22 2008 and new entrants to the sector who followed the WAMITAB/CIWM accreditation route after this date.
As well as those ‘deemed' competent by the EA and those who have been ‘EA assessed', which applies to individuals who completed a non-CoTC activity prior to March 1 2009.
The second accreditation system in the waste and recycling sector was put forward by the waste and environmental services trade body the Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Energy and Utility (EU) Skills body, which is the Sector Skills Council for the water, waste management, gas and power industries.
The ESA/EU Skills effort requires operatives to achieve and maintain certification of their Corporate Management System (CMS) that meets a requirement of an approved industry standard. This is then formally accredited by an independent Accredited Certification Body (ACB).
This system is based on the idea of demonstrable competence, with classroom learning and testing used to bolster employees' understanding of their roles. The CMS is annually audited by an ACB to ensure it is of the required standard.
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