Education, Skills, Qualifications - Why Bother?

A lot is heard about what qualifications are supposed to ‘do’ for employers and employees in the extractives industries, but what do they really offer? Why should you bother? These questions are discussed and several answers are proposed by Don Glaister, managing director of SERAC UK, a leading national training provider to the extractives industry

For many employees, the immediate answer to the question posed in the title of this article, if a seemingly flippant one, is quite simply, ‘Because I can’. Enquire a little more deeply into matters, however, and the answer moves swiftly from the somewhat more reassuring ‘Because I should’, to the positively alluring (from all perspectives), ‘Because it will further my career’.

From the employer’s point of view, answers can vary between the ultra-pragmatic ‘Because legislation demands it’, to the seemingly altruistic ‘Because my staff deserve the best I can give them’. The latter attitude seems far less altruistic, however, when weighed against the very real commercial benefits of training to a business (more about this later).

In the multi-faceted UK extractives and mineral processing sector, there is certainly no shortage of areas where self-development or corporate training, or both, can deliver results. While the sector itself is well established and possessed of many highly skilled people, the fact is that, like any mature industry, it needs to ensure a steady stream of new skilled people. Of equal importance is the need to demonstrate a clear progress path for those in the industry. If it does one without the other, the simple fact is that the same people who form the intake of new staff will soon form the outfall. The vast majority of people who want to move up the managerial ladder are also likely to be those who lack the specific application skills related to quarry management – whether because of time served in the industry or a simple lack of opportunity. 

Over simplistic nonsense? It is difficult to see how it can be, particularly in an industry which, although mature, is still very busy developing itself and its skills to meet the new challenges of both the changing economic circumstances right now and, it is to be hoped, what will be needed when things improve. If managerial and operative quality and professional standards prove to be variable, this may be not only be costly and the root cause of ineffectiveness at best, but at worst it may be positively dangerous.

The opportunities…and the threats

The extractives and mineral processing industry is a uniquely diverse sector – from health and safety to customer services, environmental issues to project management, procurement to sustainability, design/technology to resource management. Another dozen items could probably be added to this list; indeed, it is knowing where and when to stop that can be the problem.

At present, the issue of training, up-skilling, assessment etc is somewhat clouded by the recession. Understandably, in a downturn such as the one which the whole industry is currently suffering, every employer wants greater productivity. Sadly, and far too often, companies look for that increased productivity through redundancies, which merely serves to put increased pressure on those left behind. Equally sadly, those left behind, while enduring this increased pressure, often in the face of no real alternatives, are no better equipped for it than they were for the less frenetic times that may have preceded the recession.

This is a recipe for disaster. And with prosecutions under the Corporate Manslaughter Act becoming evermore frequent and successful, it poses a real threat to the senior ranks of every business in the UK. Their necks are, almost literally, on the block if things go wrong.

There are, therefore, two issues that need to be addressed: how to boost productivity; and how to protect against the very real penalties for ‘getting it wrong’.

Interestingly, the answer to both is the same – through training, up-skilling and routine, regular assessment. More importantly, however, it is through properly focused and provable efforts in these areas.

Looking at productivity first, there is much well-documented evidence that qualifications, especially at management level, have a genuinely positive impact on a business, while at the lower levels training and certification can drive up productivity and, as a side benefit, bring self-confidence and self-respect in their wake.

However, the benefits for a business do not end there. Added to this is raised staff attraction rates, which can equate simply to ‘better’ staff in these times of growing unemployment, and a generally improved professional reputation for the business, not to mention improved sales. With customers focusing increasingly on their own liabilities under the varied legislation aimed at ensuring worker and public safety, they are going to want companies that offer provable reassurance that they are making the right choice of extractives or mineral processing supplier.

With regard to legal requirements, extractives and processing management companies have their own considerations in this respect. The ability to show that a company has considered its management and operational needs and has responded positively with appropriate training and ongoing assessment goes a long way to safeguarding both senior individuals and the business itself. Far-reaching changes to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 have been in place since April 2008, and the legislation is increasingly making its presence felt. Today, police forces are required to investigate all fatal accidents as unlawful killing until the contrary is proved; and in the facilities area there are all-too-many opportunities for serious accidents that can involve dozens of people.

This law applies to both private and public concerns and, for any company officers finding themselves facing a charge, the ability to prove a sound training and safety culture within their organization can be vital. It can be a powerful aid in demonstrating to both judge and jury that proper attention has been paid to the management of staff health and safety in a business.

Where to begin?

In a survey by the Chartered Management Institute, findings showed that qualifications are most useful when developed and reinforced in everyday practice. It is particularly pleasing, therefore, that extractives and mineral processing qualifications, through the efforts of so many in the business, continue to be updated and reinforced and set themselves and their ‘students’ very successfully to achieve just that. 

For individuals and companies looking for work-based assessment, the extractives and mineral processing industry has a wide range of NVQs that have been specially developed to meet the unique requirements of the sector, to ensure the workforce is suitably competent. SERAC UK brings an innovative approach to its services from its years of experience in the extractives and other sectors, to ensure that employers and learners are fully supported. The key to SERAC UK’s approach is to understand organizations’ particular needs, integrate training into the assessment (if required) and then minimize the impact on the business during delivery.

What next?

For anyone considering the joint benefits of productivity and legislation compliance, SERAC UK, as a well-established workplace provider of training and assessment in both NVQs and VRQs, has already worked successfully for most of the major operators in the sector, as well as many of the smaller players. Equally importantly, it has helped individuals as well as corporate groups and offers courses either in-house, where practicable, or externally – and for single company groups and groups of individuals from a range of businesses. This expertise extends across a wide range of key areas, such as health and safety, customer service, team leadership, environmental management, project management, waste management and quality management.

Today, the company can provide individuals and organizations with a complete package in all the related areas. Additionally, SERAC UK is one of only a few work-based training providers to have already gained full TQS Part B accreditation in the extractives sector – the new Training Quality Standard that focuses on varying aspects of employer satisfaction as its judging criteria. This sits comfortably with the company’s MATRIX accreditation, which takes more account of employee support. In times of recession it is important not just to invest the training budget, but
to invest it wisely. The attainment of standards such as TQS and MATRIX should be a prerequisite for any potential training or assessment supplier under consideration.

For further information, contact Don Glaister at: [email protected]