Our Industry Future - Training

Over the past couple of years, small 2–4 day training companies have been subject to brainless attacks by so-called Vocational Qualification Assessment Centres, claiming our courses don’t meet NVQ standards required for building compliance.

Well — here’s the good news and the bad news.

The good news is that nearly all of these 2–4-day courses meet current standards and provide important industry input. In fact, many of the people being assessed for NOS started in our industry — including so-called assessors who were trained on our AEME, Hasman and BESA short courses only five years ago.

If you shut these training centres down, people new to the industry will have no idea what they are supposed to do, and many skilled workers will be denied affordable courses to help set a baseline standard. Instead, we’ll end up rubber-stamping the poor standards that already exist, and many experienced people will leave.

We all know that there is a need for alternative methods of training for newcomers to the industry and short courses plug this gap. On our courses we advise students that, if they want to comply fully, they should continue their training to NOS standards by the affordable routes many of us recommend.

We should be advising wisely — not bullying to line our own pockets. Work based training centres do not replace on site experience, but it does help companies and individuals to understand what they ought to be doing.

The bad news is this: if Tier-one companies and others give in to the incessant pressure being applied, in a few years they will have no labour, and companies — no matter how large — will fail.

There are NOS assessment companies that understand the importance of hands-on courses and provide them at a reasonable cost.

So, invest in the future by supporting pre-training provided by BESA, Hasman and AEME, and encourage trainees to proceed to NOS.

Don’t threaten.

Don’t bully.

Encourage.

If all people can do is attack and deride short courses, then they are not your friends; they should leave the industry and stop causing disarray and destroying the very industry they purport to represent.

As an industry it our responsibility to set standards that we can all adhere to and that provide pathways for individuals to progress for the safety of the worker and building occupiers. Short courses combined with on the job training will get an individual to the required level that they have the experience necessary to progress into a NOS backed qualification.

So, let’s stop the backstabbing and get on with pre-training the workers for tomorrow — or we will all suffer.

Let’s do what we do best and train those who want to learn.

Peter Reid – FIC

NAADUK President

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