Skills Delivery Review

A recent independent review of the skills has been published which makes a series of recommendations and suggested major structural reforms to the current way skills are delivered to prepare for economic transformation and enable Scotland to prosper with a skilled workforce as outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET).

James Withers’ Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape  recommendations include:

  • Scottish Government should take full responsibility for national skills planning in-house
  • Create a new single funding and delivery body, bringing together key skills functions from Skills Development Scotland (SDS), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and perhaps the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)
  • An integral part of business development and planning by the various enterprise agencies should involve workforce planning
  • SQA, and the new qualifications body which will replace it, to oversee the development and accreditation of all publicly funded post-school qualifications with a parity of esteem for academic and vocational qualifications
  • Skills Development Scotland to be reformed to create a new body specifically for careers advice and education

Some of the issues raised in the report are helpful for SMEs, particularly those in the resource management sector, including:

  • We need skills solutions and services that respond to the needs of all businesses, including SMEs and start-ups
  • Clear, coherent and recognisable learning and training pathways and qualifications that are appropriate to the sector, occupation or profession that they serve with clear, consistent and relevant naming structures which state the level and type of learning.
  • Qualifications and awards that more deeply embed work-integrated learning or employability-related skills development in recognition that the destination for most people undertaking learning and training will be the workplace.
  • Clear consistent opportunities for employer engagement and leadership that enable all types of businesses and industries to play a central role in shaping and guiding the provision and services in the system at every step – from standards and qualifications development to careers advice and guidance. Solutions and services that respond to the needs of all businesses, including SMEs and start-ups.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Graeme Dey said:

“This review is comprehensive and the direction of travel it points us towards is very helpful” he also indicated that it, “…. sets out a clear case for extensive change so that we have a lifelong education and skills system in place which serves the needs of learners, employers and our future economy.”

The next stage is for Scottish Government to take some time to fully consider Withers’ recommendations, which they are generally supportive of, and their practical implications.

SWITCH is actively working on how we can create Pathways to Progression to help employers, learners and colleagues navigate careers in the industry to and welcomes this report. Its general sense of direction will help the industry to recruit the right staff to enable it to grow. We will keep you posted on developments in the skills landscape as they arise.

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CIWM Jobs and Skills Research Workshop – Survey Results

A survey was conducted in Autumn 2022 to gain insight from CIWM members and non members on their experiences of sector job and skill requirements.

Survey results will be used to contribute to a wider research project which will provide insight to support government decision making, as well as providing valuable data to employers across the sector as they prepare for the human resource implications of theNet Zero transition.

Please follow the links below for the research survey results and recordings of the meeting:

Survey Results 

Recordings of Meeting

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Guidance on the Use, Storage and Disposal of Class B Firefighting Foam Containing POPs

Following a period of stakeholder engagement we are now in a position to share the final version of our Guidance on the Use, Storage and Disposal of Class B Firefighting Foams Containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (Dec 2022).221220-pops_firefighting foam PFOA disposal FINAL PDF.pdf (229.6 KB)

This guidance is aimed at anyone in Scotland who uses, stores, or disposes of Class B firefighting foams (FFs), and/or any other Firefighting foams, containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), namely PFOA. This includes manufacturers and suppliers of these fire foams as well as industries such as petrochemical, airports, harbours/ports, distillers, energy and waste sectors as well as others.

The guidance will be available for view on SEPA’s website shortly.

Summary of the guidance:

Class B Firefighting Foams (for example C8) have historically contained chemicals from the PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances) group of chemicals, namely perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS), and, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds.

PFOS and its related substances were restricted under the Stockholm Convention in May 2009, and therefore its use is already banned, and you should have ceased using and disposed of any stockpiles by June 2011. If you think your firefighting foam may contain PFOS, please urgently email: nationalwaste@sepa.org.uk using “possible PFOS containing FFs” as the subject to your email. It is important that SEPA is notified of these stockpiles before you undertake the steps to dispose of the foam

On the 1 January 2023 the requirements in relation to any firefighting foam that contains PFOA will change to limit their use which is the focus of this guidance.

The law does not allow the use of substances, mixtures and articles containing PFOA, its salts and PFOA related compounds beyond 1 January 2023 other than in accordance with certain requirements and timescale which are summarised in the guidance.

Where you are intending to continue to store or use firefighting foam containing (or potentially containing) PFOA in accordance with the conditions of the regulations or have a stockpile of more than 50 kg at a given location of firefighting foam containing (or potentially containing) PFOA above the concentration thresholds (including materials contained in hand-held extinguishers and/or foam concentrate), you are required to report annually by 4 July to SEPA at nationalwaste@sepa.org.uk . Details are set out in the guidance

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SWEEEP Warns used e-cigarettes are ‘Potentially Hazardous’

A Kent-based waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycler, SWEEEP Kuusakoski, has produced a technical note warning that e-cigarettes and vapes are “potentially hazardous” due to the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

E-cigarettes, which are in category 7 of the WEEE recycling regulations, consist of several elements, SWEEEP says:

  • A plastic, glass or metal casing
  • A heating element
  • A microprocessor
  • A lithium-ion battery
  • e-liquid containing nicotine, benzoic acid, piperonal and benzyl alcohol

Some waste e-cigarettes are likely be classified as hazardous, SWEEEP says, due to the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the form of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in the plastic components and other substances in the printed circuit board.

Read full article here 

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Nechells recycling firm directors guilty of safety failures over wall collapse

Company directors at a Nechells recycling plant where five men were crushed to death by a collapsing wall have been convicted of serious health and safety offences.

The workers were left with no chance of survival when the 45-tonne structure fell without warning in an incident which shocked the city.

Read full article here 

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CIWM And SWITCH Collaborate To Deliver Better Learner Outcomes

To deliver improved skills and competence in the resource and waste management sector, CIWM and the SWITCH Forum have signed an agreement to collaborate in order to provide better outcomes for learners and those wanting to upskill as they move along their career path.

The two organisations, who have a history of joint working and a shared ambition to maintain a core competency framework for the resources and waste sector, will develop a Technically Competent Manager Framework for Scotland. The framework will create a standardised approach and will assist those in the sector attain the required levels of skills and competence to manage sites and operate in the sector. In order to facilitate this upskilling of learners from across Scotland and other parts of the UK, a Higher Technical Qualification/training programme will be established for delivery in universities across the UK.

There is a natural alignment between CIWM as a professional body representing individuals in the sector and SWITCH Forum members who have an interest collaborating to raise standards in the sector. CIWM and SWITCH have undertaken to provide appropriate resource and share best practice as the projects progress.

 

Read the full press release here 

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WISH Position Statement on Cleansing Operations & The Collection of Bird carcasses During Avian Influensa outbreak

Following a number of queries concerning the appropriate PPE and precautions to be observed whilst collecting bird carcasses as part of cleansing in streets, parks and public areas, WISH together with the HSE and others have published the attached position statement on this issue.

This statement will be kept under review during the current Avian Flu outbreak and will be changed should the circumstance so require.

Any questions or queries can be directed to info@wishforum.org.uk.

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HSE Health and Work Virtual Conference – 15th November 2022

This interactive, free all-day event will take place virtually and is part of our approach to inspire and promote better prevention, management and control of the common risks and causes of work-related ill-health across Great Britain.

At the conference HSE will unveil how it is supporting the government’s response to the Health is Everyone’s Business (HiEB) consultation, as well as discussions on topics including work-related stress and mental health, occupational health, musculoskeletal disorders, controlling radiation in the workplace and occupational lung disease.

Delegates at the event will see how health and work is evolving not just in response to the pandemic, but also around the actions we need to take collectively as employers, employees, regulators and others to prevent harm caused by work-related ill-health.

It will provide a unique opportunity for businesses, public and third sector organisations, health professionals and others to engage directly with our regulatory inspectors, scientists and health topic specialists, as well as hear from our Chief Executive.

You’ll learn about present and emerging issues around a number of health and work areas which are on our conference agenda.

REGISTRATION – Spaces are limited so register your place here now.

The agenda is live on the HSE website outlining the learning opportunities and the presenters with which you can engage with, ask questions and share your views.

 

 
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The Dangers of Fire, the Consequences and Early Warning Systems in the Resource and Waste sector.

The SWITCH Forum recently hosted an online seminar kindly supported by Helios Fire Systems. Fire can have devastating consequences at any site. There is the danger to human life, the loss of plant and equipment, impact on environment with pollution to land, water and air and then the ongoing problems of increased insurance costs, the expense of getting up and running again, loss of revenues while site is shut, loss of good will from neighbouring sites and in the worst-case scenario the business cannot continue as a going concern.

Fires have been increasing in the sector year on year with the ESA estimating 334 fires reported in 2016/17 and 670 fires estimated in 2019/ 2020. These are known fires and reported fires but the underlying near misses, small scale instances of overheating and fire probably go unreported.

The resource and waste sector faces several challenges when considering fire and fire suppression. By its nature, the sector uses a lot of heavy plant and equipment, faces challenges from the materials they handle (small waste electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, mixed refuse which could contain hot ashes, shredded materials, gas cylinders and many more mixes and combinations of non-processed and processed streams.)

Oxygen, heat, and fuel are frequently referred to as the “fire triangle. You need these three things to allow fire to happen. The fuel for the fire is flowing through the site or stored at any one time. Oxygen is always present. The question is where the heat will come from and act as the ignition for the fire.

Once again, the resource and waste sector have a multitude of options for where a source of heat may come from – self heating in piles of materials, electrical faults, hot works, moving plant and hot spots from friction as well as ignition from items such as aerosols, gas cylinders, batteries and other combustible materials.

The first learning must be that staff at any site must be aware of the constant danger of fire and aware of what the sources of fire can be. There should be regular site reviews and consideration given to potential sources of fire, regular training and awareness talks and a plan for regular maintenance program and checking of site electrical wiring and equipment as well as checking stored materials and conveyor belts. Being alert to the dangers and being prepared.

It can take less than 30 seconds for a small fire to take hold and turn into a major fire. Speed of identification and decisive action is therefore paramount. Time is of the essence.

The Helios Fire systems offer state-of-the-art solutions to protect business and the local surrounding environment. They utilise this advanced technology to be the intelligent and ever vigilant system monitoring your site 24 hours and 7 days a week.

The site is surveyed, and design agreed to ensure there is 100% coverage where possible. The ATFS system is an advanced specialist thermographic camera and automatic targeted cannon system which can protect the entire site, utilising infrared and other imaging systems to identify thermal and visual signs of fire. The system learns background temperatures and form a base line “ambient” temperature profile. The system will then scan the entire site constantly looking for any variation from this norm. It is accurate enough to identify these changes in relatively small volumes of materials at quite large distances.

Once a heat variance is identified the system is triggered a warning issued and a location logged. The system can then act. It is clever enough to then engage the second piece of vital equipment which is a targeted water cannon which sprays pressurised fire suppressant. It automatically calculates the distance, the scale and location of the fire and also makes the decision of what type of action to take (delivery of a targeted jet or supressing “blanket” of water and suppressant.) The system takes the action and removes the potential for human error. The system is also utilising AI and deep machine learning to record background temperatures, early warnings, full activations and any other helpful data. It both learns from the day to day as well as logging and learning from actual fire events.

Taking into consideration the speed at which fire can take hold, the complexity of many resource and waste sector sites and the need to be vigilant to fire and fire hazards all the time, it is reassuring to know that there are options to utilise accurate, reliable and intelligent technologies to be a vigilant guardian of your site, staff and equipment as well as technology which will take fast and decisive action to prevent fire. It is also interesting to consider that this technology is centrally logging all the data from its various clients and events the systems record to keep learning about the sources of fire and fires on resource and waste centre sites. There is of course a cost, but operators will need to measure this cost against the potential costs of a fire taking hold at their premises and the impact it has on their staff, their neighbours and their day-to-day operations.

The SWITCH Forum would like to thank Euan Munro, SLR consulting (an active member of our H&S working group) for raising our attention to the technology and Garry Adey of Helios Fire Systems for providing a very interesting and engaging presentation and webinar. A recording of the webinar can be found at https://switchforum.org.uk/webinars/

A key objective of SWITCH is to signpost existing guidance and information and also to develop resources where a gap is identified. We do not recommend any company or equipment and it is down to site operators and employees to be aware of the very real risk of fire and the need to decisive action.

 

 

 

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Workplace Fatality Figures for 2021/22 Released

A hundred and twenty-three workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to figures published on the 6th of July by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The annual data release covers the period from April 2021 to March 2022, during which time most pandemic restrictions were lifted and the economy began returning to normal.

For more information click here 

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