“Some suffered dyslexia, some just weren’t academics, whilst others were simply distracted by the previous night’s entertainment!”
as part of their induction and, with the use of an index sign off sheet, would progress through the different roles and duties in the form of a Standard Operating Procedure format. I anticipated this taking approximately twelve tp eighteen months.
The system was working very well until
I received a follow up visit from the Local Environmental Health people who commended me on my proactive approach to training and procedure, but asked how I continually assessed performance. I, like many, suggested that I can tell whether a job is being undertaken correctly or not, but this wasn’t what they were asking of me. They were looking for continued
adherence to good practice and continual professional development, which was a valid requisite. From this we developed a simple CPD sheet; we call it
the Skills Appraisal Form & Evaluation. (S.A.F.E.). The SAFE sheet evaluates that the trainee can:
1.Prepare for the task/duty/role correctly 2.Undertake the task/duty/role safely
3.Can identify risks and faults and report them clearly
This, the trainee demonstrates almost
exactly the same as he would to a D32/D33 (A1) assessor. The only difference is the trainee is regularly required to meet the required standard, thus maintaining standard and health and safety best practice.
Whilst this all sounds quite onerous, we have, with a disciplined approach, met the training needs of the trainee, continued to maintain a healthy, safe environment and, with the enrolment of the trainee on to the NVQ Level 2
A TUTOR’S VIEW
Jonathan Knowles of Myerscough College says that vocational qualifications are strongly bonded to competence
VOCATIONAL qualifications are strongly bonded to the legal term - competent. As an employer you MUST be able to ‘prove’ that everyone in the team is competent to do the jobs they do - especially working unsupervised. If you can ‘prove’ it, then you are in step with the regulations. This ‘proof’, is the crux of the matter. What is the ‘proof’ that greenkeeper X can safely use a mower on a steep bank and, as an employer/supervisor you are continually evaluating greenkeeper Xs’ competence on the task of mowing banks?
PUWER ’98 (The Provision and Use of
Work Equipment Regulations) is very clear about the employer’s duties and the use of equipment and machinery. For starters, employers are not allowed to let employees use equipment/machinery unless they are trained and have proven to be competent. The message I’ve certainly picked up loud and clear is that NVQs and health and safety are very closely entwined which, I agree, sounds obvious out loud. Nevertheless, how many actually put what Jim Brown is saying into practice. Many head greenkeepers will pull down a dusty and damp ring binder, with half a dozen loose sheets, listing all the equipment they have with a signature from the line manager and greenkeeper as ‘proof’ they have been found competent. Is this showing ‘due diligence’ for health and safety? Not really, is it? It’s lazy.
With some methodical thinking it has a
logical conclusion. As an A1 or D32/33 assessor it should be within your capabilities to construct your own training records. Creating these records is based on your experience, the required organisational procedures and the standard practice. (The standard practice or ‘National occupational standards’ for any given level is freely accessed from the NPTC website.)
The assessor can construct a training manual based on these factors. Additionally, if these in-house training sheets show assessment planning (in Jim’s case the S.A.F.E appraisal system he uses), and the records of competence that the assessor has created are readily transferable and reference to the national occupational standards from the NPTC, then speak to your trainees’ internal verifier as, in theory, these records can, and should, be used as evidence in an NVQ portfolio, thereby ‘proving’ competence for qualification and inline with regulations. Two birds, one stone! Moreover, the continuing appraising and
evaluating of skills beyond proving competence is showing continual professional development. Again, health and safety best practice. This method of inducting, appraising and training staff puts the employer in the driving seat with what the team must do and what they must know and understand. This mentoring, using the national occupational standards to create procedures, is one of the reasons they were designed - for employers to use.
Jim’s message for having and doing this training/appraising/mentoring is a real wake-up call for anyone who is complacent that it will never happen at their workplace. As I travel from golf course to golf
course, the commonest incident I hear of is rolling machines over and losing control down slopes. Think of the downtime, repair and cost, not to mention possible injuries. Will the insurance cover it if you haven’t got the correct records? Do you fancy an in-depth HSE investigation at your organisation?
Use the regulations and the NVQ standards as a vehicle for implementing some quality training systems. It can be a flexible system that integrates within the NVQ and turns the ‘not yet achieved’ status to ‘working towards’. Then, the ‘achieved’ status will continue to professionally develop (CPD). This is an opportunity for the employer/on-site assessor to instill skills, and possibly avoid accidents, improve on quality and generally bring at bit of buzz and optimism into the sheds.
NVQ standards for amenity horticulture level 2 and 3 include landscaping and sports turf etc. and are available online at
http://www.nptc.org.uk - look under NVQ’s, Amenity Horticulture (0329) Level 2 & 3, landscaping standards
Sportsturf qualification, have uploaded all their CPD SAFE sheets to the online Myerscough College ePortfolio (Onefile), which has already taken my current trainee to 35% of his qualification, with more uploading to come.
It is fair to suggest that I have met my training responsibilities the wrong way round, especially as it took the father of one of my trainees to remind me of those responsibilities. I certainly wouldn’t suggest you go down the same path as I did but, what is clear, if you take your responsibilities seriously and encourage your trainees to complete their work, give them your time as well as time to learn, they will become better greenkeepers or groundsmen. They will be safe at work and you will sleep peacefully at night!
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