Under the arrangement, 450 members of Waste Recycling Group's (WRG) staff will receive training on industry standards for issues such as waste management operations, recycling operations and plant operations.
The contract, which came into effect on April 1, sees assessors from North Tyneside-based TyneMet visit all WRG sites over the next 18 to 24 months in order to help them achieve National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) – which recognise competence and ability in certain fields through training and assessment.
Commenting on the arrangement, Derek Chatting, WRG Group training manager, said: “We're delighted to have reached this milestone agreement. Their proposal meets our needs perfectly. We can now build a sustainable partnership that enables our in-house training team to deliver enhanced standards of choice and quality to its internal customers.”
The waste and recycling sector has previously come under scrutiny for the amount of training offered to employees (see letsrecycle.com story) and a spokesman for WRG told letsrecycle.com that arrangements such as this had not been made on this scale before.
He said: “In our sector, we think it is one of the first arrangements of its kind. The industry needs to be trying to introduce new, young people into the sector and in order to deliver that we need to offer the chances of training and development that will help them.”
Training
Introduction of the TyneMet-led training is set to build on WRG's in-house training across all levels of the company, which saw in-house and external trainers visit all of WRG's facilities during 2009 and 100 members of staff receive NVQ accreditation.
The NVQ in recycling operations offered by TyneMet covers all aspects of collecting, sorting and processing recyclable material, while the accreditation in plant operations is aimed at assessing competence in plant and machinery operators.
The NVQ Level 2 in waste management operations, which was launched in December 2009 by national qualification provider NCFE (see letsrecycle.com story), is seen as a means of training new and existing employees in areas including collection, treatment and disposal.
Sharon Mather, head of service industries at TyneMet, said: “We're particularly excited to be working alongside an employer that is so committed to developing a competitive edge through workforce development.
“We're looking forward to working with WRG not only in the delivery of the NVQ but also in other skill areas, including accredited management training in areas such as project management.”
TyneMet has previously worked with Hartlepool-based JB Recycling to help over 50 members of staff achieve their NVQ Level 2 in recycling operations as part of a drive to improve the training of its employees.
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