UK COMPANIES INTRODUCED TO NEW QUALIFICATION – MADE IN NEWPORT

The training co-ordinator of a Newport chemical company which has pioneered a new emergency response qualification for the UK has introduced it to over 100 of his peers at a major national conference.

Alan Gibbons spoke to assessors, auditors and trainers from a wide range of top British companies about the new NVQ Certificate in Emergency Response at the annual national conference of the awarding body, PAA /VQSET.

As Emergency Response Team Training Coordinator at Solutia UK, Alan heads a team which has which has developed the NVQ in conjunction with PAA /VQSET, and the conference was the next stage in fine-tuning the qualification and encouraging its take up.

Solutia became involved because it has an exemplary safety record on its site in Corporation Road, Newport, where it employs 164 people manufacturing chemicals for products as diverse car windscreen safety glass, paints, floor coverings, varnishes and washing powders, as well as water treatment products and heat transfer fluids.

The company was asked to pilot the scheme in October 2007 in conjunction with PAA /VQSET and the chemical industry’s sector skills council, COGENT, when it was presented with the outline qualification for review. Testing it against the procedures of the company’s existing, well-established Emergency Response Team, it worked with the awarding body to develop the NVQ standard.

To pass the award, candidates have to demonstrate their competence in three broad areas of knowledge - emergency procedures, how to control emergencies and critical situations, and team working. Seven employees at Solutia became the first in the UK to be awarded the qualification in the summer.

The qualification has been hailed as a huge success, with 14 other candidates at Solutia already achieving it, and other companies due to offer it to their employees within the next few months.

Alan said that Solutia had been an accredited centre for NVQ schemes for 12 years, and had its own accredited NVQ assessors and an NVQ internal verifier.

“We have been very proud and excited to be involved in the development of this new qualification, and it’s a great honour to have been invited to address the PAA /VQSET conference to get delegates’ feedback and to encourage them to offer this NVQ to their employees.”