How Operator Competence Qualifications Work
These qualifications are work-based qualifications that assess the skills and knowledge people need to do their job effectively. The intention is that you can demonstrate that you have these skills and knowledge at work, just by doing your job. You do not have to go to college or sit any exams. The qualifications for the Waste Industry are written by the Energy and Utility Skills Council (EU Skills) which is made up of representatives from all levels of the waste industry.
The National Standards as they are called, are made up of units, each unit is a part of your daily job, such as "Control the reception of hazardous waste"; "Create effective working relationships" and "Control site operations". Each unit may be broken down into two or more elements. For example the "Create effective working relationships" unit is broken down into three elements, one about Gaining the trust of colleagues, the second about Gaining the trust of your manager and the third about Minimising conflict in your team.
Each element contains a list of skills that you need to perform at work to demonstrate that you have the competence to meet the standards and also a list of knowledge that you need to show that you understand. You will need to demonstrate your competence to an assessor who has been approved by WAMITAB. The assessor is not like a driving test examiner, they will explain what they need to see and they will talk to you as you do your job, they have a list of things that they need to see and a list of questions that they need to ask you. It is not pass or fail, the assessor will just keep working with you until they have seen enough to be satisfied that you are competent.
The assessor will discuss the requirements of the award and plan with you how you will be able to prove that you meet those requirements. They will leave you with an action plan of the things that you need to collect before their next visit and they will negotiate with you when that visit will be. They will help you to compile all of these things together into a portfolio, which will be yours to keep. At intervals during the assessment process your portfolio will be passed back to Waste Management Assessment Services Ltd where it will be checked by an internal verifier whose role is to ensure that you have been assessed thoroughly and fairly. It may also be checked by an external verifier who is employed by WAMITAB; this should only be a formality.
