Council benefits from Waste Management training

17/10/2008

Members of Adur and Worthing Borough Council's Waste Management team

When Adur and Worthing Borough Councils joined forces to provide a new and better recycling and waste management initiative for its local communities, Operations Manager David Whitmore knew he had a big challenge ahead. But with the help of Central Sussex College and Train to Gain, his employees are now enjoying the benefits of a nationally recognised qualification.

David wanted to provide his 162 staff members within the waste services team with an opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification in Waste Management, which he felt would contribute greatly to changing the public perception of the industry, alongside increasing confidence and motivation within the team.

Traditionally, the industry has a poor public image as an unskilled workforce, with nearly 50% of people working within the industry holding few or no qualifications. As David explains, he wanted to create a team of industry professionals; "A nationally recognised qualification would ensure that everyone met national standards for the industry in areas such as Health and Safety, team working and presenting a positive image to the public."

A Train to Gain broker helped David to identify the NVQ level 2 in Waste Management as the appropriate course for his staff, and through Central Sussex College a provider for the training was found. David was keen to minimise disruption to day-to-day activities and specialist training provider WAMAS (Waste Management Assessment Service Ltd) were able to ensure that training was carried out 'on the job', without the need to attend college.

As David says, he couldn't have completed a training operation of this size without the Train to Gain scheme: "To commit to an NVQ programme on this scale, we required funding and this is where our local Train to Gain Skills Brokerage helped....It has greatly assisted us in our quest to raise standards within our workforce."