New qualifications available for apprentices in the Water Industry
In November 2007, Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills), the Sector Skills Council for the electricity, gas, waste management and water industries, in consultation with the water industry, launched the new water industry Apprenticeship for England and Wales. The Apprenticeship has been designed for employers, by employers, to ensure it reflects the skills needs of the sector. It will help businesses to identify managers of the future and develop a sustainable workforce where competent individuals are becoming increasingly difficult to recruit.
Over forthcoming months, EU Skills will expand the scope of the Apprenticeship to underpin a broader range of job roles and ensure its continued suitability for the sector. EU Skills hope the wider appeal this offers will encourage more employers to use the Apprenticeship as a key mechanism for training and recruitment.
New Qualifications Accredited
At the beginning of February, the following qualifications, awarded by CABWI, the Awarding Body for the water industry, were accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) .
- Level 2 NVQ Leakage Detection
- Level 3 NVQ Leakage Control
- Level 3 NVQ Managing & Controlling Process Operations
- Level 3 NVQ Controlling Process Operations
- Level 3 NVQ Water Fittings Regulations Enforcement
EU Skills is submitting these National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) for approval within the Apprenticeship, and assuming approval is granted, learners will be able to register onto these NVQs as part of the Apprenticeship from 1 July 2008.
Alongside this, as part of the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) test and trials, EU Skills, together with City & Guilds, Develop Training Ltd, and supported by employers in the industry, has been developing a range of new competence-based Level 2 qualifications to underpin the competent operator programme for process plant operations. All units within the qualification have now been approved, are separately credit rated and have been combined into a range of qualification sizes to respond to employer needs.
Together with the new NVQs, these units will be submitted for approval within the Apprenticeship and EU Skills anticipates that learners in England will be able to register onto these units from 1 July 2008. Evaluation of the QCF test and trials is being conducted in the summer and assuming ministerial approval, EU Skills will facilitate extension of the units to Apprentices in Wales.
Helen White, Apprenticeship Manager at EU Skills said; “Apprentices learn while they work, so their knowledge is up-to-date and because their training is on the job, the practical skills they gain are the ones that are right for the business. They lead to nationally recognised qualifications - National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications - which demonstrate that the standard of work expected in the sector has been met.”
