INSTITUTE FOR WORK AT HEIGHT. A guide to implementing accredited training for the Work At Height Industry

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1 INSTITUTE FOR WORK AT HEIGHT A guide to implementing accredited training for the Work At Height Industry February 009

2 INTRODUCTION Two pieces of South African legislation should be of interest to all who work, or manage people who work at height. 1. Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations Provides for the protection of persons against hazards arising out of, or in connection with activities at work.. Skills Development Act Designed to develop the skills of the South African workforce, and inter alia improve productivity in the workplace and the competitiveness of employers use the workplace as an active learning environment; provide employees with opportunities to acquire new skills. With skill comes safety and productivity - vital issues for any business like yours but employers also need to comply with Occupational Health & Safety legislation. A key requirement for work at height is the appointment of a competent person. Until now a competent person was defined as any person having the knowledge, training, experience and qualifications specific to the work or task being performed. The Act goes on to say: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, these qualifications and training shall be deemed to be the required qualifications and training. competent persons as defined in the Occupational Health & Safety Act should now be assessed as competent against Unit Standards Guide to implementing training

3 WHAT IS SKILLS DEVELOPMENT? The Skills Development Act (Act No 97 of 1998, provided for the establishment of SETAs (Sector Educational Training Authorities). Essentially a SETA is responsible for: o The development of Industry skills standards (termed unit standards) and in turn qualifications for their registration on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). o Ensuring the unit standards are current, internationally benchmarked, and reflect the skills and knowledge required to perform a task in the workplace. o Managing the assessment process to ensure learner achievements are quality assured and certificated. o The development and implementation of a skills development strategy to meet Industry needs. The skills development needs of the work at height industries fall under the domain of the Services SETA. For the skills development needs of an Industry to be addressed the Services SETA is required to work with organised Employer (trade associations) and Employee (trade unions) bodies. The Institute for Work at Height (IWH) has been registered with the Services SETA as the schedule 1 employer body representing rope access, fall arrest, aluminium scaffolding, aluminium ladders, temporary suspended platforms and mobile elevating work platforms. WHAT IS THE NQF? The National Qualifications Framework is a framework that sets the boundaries a set of principles and guidelines which provide a vision, philosophical base and an organisational structure of a qualifications system. In short, the NQF is a set of principles and guidelines by which records of learner achievement are registered to enable National recognition of acquired skills and knowledge, thereby ensuring an integrated system that encourages life long learning. WHO IS SAQA? The South African Qualifications Authority is a body appointed by the Ministers of Education and Labour to: o Oversee the development of the NQF, by formulating and publishing policies and criteria for the registration of bodies responsible for establishing education and training standards or qualifications and for the accreditation of bodies responsible for monitoring and auditing achievements in terms of standards and qualifications. Guide to implementing training 3

4 o Oversee the implementation of the NQF by ensuring the registration, accreditation and assignment of functions to the bodies referred to above, as well as the registration of National standards and qualifications on the framework. It must also take steps to ensure that provisions for accreditation are complied with where appropriate, that registered standards and qualifications are internationally comparable. WHAT IS A PROFESSIONAL BODY WITHIN THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES? A Professional Body is a representative body that is registered with SAQA in liaison with the appropriate SETA. The Professional Body is in fact a key player in the training process. Generally trade associations such as the IWH, are preferred and indeed ideally suited to undertake this role simply because of the fact that they represent the voice of the Industry. The latter being that they consist of member organisations that are able to provide all the industry expertise necessary to the Professional Body. The Services SETA has nominated IWH as the Professional Body for rope access, fall arrest, aluminium scaffolding, temporary suspended platforms and mobile elevating work platforms, industries. Within a Professional Body is a committee known as the CEP (Communities of Expert Practitioners), previously known as a Skills Development Committee. The CEP is made up of key stakeholders drawn from interest groups, specialists in the sub-field, coming from organised labour and organised business, The work of the Professional Body and its CEP is all embracing and includes inter alia: o Reviewing unit standards / skills programmes / qualifications. o Reviewing occupational designations from time to time. o Training provider accreditation over and above the SETA accreditation i.e additional requirements e.g. an audit. o Assessor accreditation ditto above. o Moderator accreditation ditto above. o Maintaining a Learner data base. o Maintaining records of achievement. o Certification and licensing to operate. o Applying and negotiating grants with the SETA. o Responsible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes. o Addressing industry projects as required. Guide to implementing training 4

5 PROFESSIONAL BODY RESPONSIBILITIES Review Unit Standards & Qualifications Admin On going Upload Learner results Training Provider Accreditation Assessor registration Moderator registration Administrates Grants Projects Certificate Designations Licence Learners QA Training Providers CPD Training Provider Audit Training Provider Accreditation Assessor registration Moderator registration Structure Requirements Implementation 5

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7 REGISTERED DESIGNATIONS FOR THE WORK AT HEIGHT INDUSTRIES DESIGNATIONS - ROPE ACCESS Skill Programme Industrial Abseiler Basic Rope Access Technician Rope Access Technician Level 1 Rope Access Supervisor Level Rope Access Supervisor Level 3 Rope Access Project Manager Unit Standard Number Unit Standard Title NQF Level Explain and perform fall arrest techniques when working at height 1 Perform a limited range of roped access tasks and rescues Explain and perform fall arrest techniques when working at height 1 Install, use and perform basic rescues from fall arrest and implement the fall protection plan Perform a limited range of roped access tasks and rescues 9996 Rig working ropes, undertake rescues and perform a range of rope access tasks Assess worksite for work at height and prepare for a fall Explain and perform fall arrest techniques when working at height Install, use and perform basic rescues from fall arrest and implement the fall protection plan Perform a limited range of roped access tasks and rescues 9996 Rig working ropes, undertake rescues and perform a range of rope access tasks Assess worksite for work at height and prepare for a fall Select equipment and rig ropes for rope access Supervise rope access teams and perform advanced manoeuvres and rescues 4 DESIGNATIONS - FALL ARREST Skill Programme Fall arrest Level 1 Fall arrest level Fall Arrest Level 3 Unit Standard Number 9995 incls Unit Standard Title Install, use and perform basic rescues from fall arrest and implement the fall protection plan Explain and perform fall arrest techniques when working at height This is a stand alone unit standard Install, use and perform basic rescues from fall arrest and implement the fall protection plan Perform a limited range of roped access tasks and rescues NQF Level 9994 Assess worksite for work at height and prepare for a fall Perform a range of advanced fall arrest rescues 4 1 7

8 Skill Programme Temporary Suspended Platform (TSP) Installation Team Leader DESIGNATIONS SPECIALISED ACCESS Unit Standard Unit Standard Title Number 4371 Supervise, inspect and control the use of temporary suspended platforms Temporary Suspended Platform (TSP) Erector Aluminum Scaffold Operations Supervisor Aluminum Scaffold Erector 4375 Erect and dismantle prefabricated aluminium alloy 1 scaffolding MEWP Transport Manager 4376 Manage the transportation of mobile elevated work 4 platforms (MEWP) 4373 Monitor and control the safety and operations of mobile 4 elevating work platforms (MEWP) MEWP Operator 437 Operate a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) Specialised Access 437 Operate a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) OR Equipment Demonstrator OR 4375 Erect and dismantle prefabricated aluminium alloy 1 scaffolding 996 Coach Learners (this unit std has been replaced with SAQA ID No however it is still registered as 996 in the cleaning level qualification 3 Please note: the above unit standards are registered in the Specialist Hygiene and Cleaning level qualification - SAQA ID No 3633 Fall Protection Safety Officer 4 NQF Level ACCREDITED TRAINING PROVIDERS Training which leads to assessment of competence must be carried out by an Accredited Training Provider. Training providers offering the work at height unit standards must be accredited with the Services SETA ETQA. Accreditation Process On-line Application Evaluation by SETA ETQA Site Visit Provisional Accreditation Achieved Remediation Remediation Evaluation by SETA ETQA Not Yet Recommended for Accreditation Guide to implementing training 8

9 Part of the Services Seta quality assurance process is to ensure that Training Providers in the Industry use facilities suitable for the training of learners. Their accreditation requires compliance with criteria developed by the CEP. As stated previously one of the functions of the Professional Body is to conduct an audit of training venues on behalf of the Services Seta and in turn provide a certificate of compliance as part of the provider accreditation process. The criterion against which each facility is judged includes: o Relevant section of the Occupational Health and Safety Act legislation. o Relevant South African National Standards Codes of Practice, i o Best practice as identified by the Skills Development Implementation committee to ensure all criteria in the unit standards are met Audits are conducted by a person, or persons selected by the CEP and the Services SETA. Auditor selection is based on the requirement that they: o Are impartial. o Have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the Industry. o Have sufficient understanding of quality assurance in the skills development process. o Have appropriate experience in conducting audits of this nature. The auditor provides the training provider with a report stating the result of the audit which is either: Compliant Compliant with recommendations, or Not compliant HOW DOES THE TRAINING PROCESS WORK? Learners or companies apply to one of the accredited Training Providers who will inform them of: o The unit standard/s they are accredited to offer. o The training costs. o What they need to bring along before training can commence o The training period. o The required summative assessment period. o The licence to operate. Guide to implementing training 9

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11 o After completion of the required training the learner must be assessed by a registered assessor this being termed the summative assessment process o If the learner is assessed as competent at this stage he / she will be issued by the training provider with a temporary license to operate for a stipulated period. o The learner will then go out into the workplace to carry out his/her workplace application of the learning undertaken, and will also be given by the training provider a workplace checklist which must be completed by the learner s supervisor and returned to the training provider two weeks in advance of the expiry date of the temporary licence. o The training provider must maintain their learner data base and send the documentation to the Professional Body of the learner results for uploading onto the SETA data base. o On receiving the worksite checklist the training provider will carry out a final desktop assessment, which will arrive at the learner being declared competent or not yet competent. NOTE: Certain unit standards require the learner to be assessed by a registered assessor before the license to operate expires. A desktop assessment is only required for the lower level unit standards. o Internal moderation must be completed by a registered Moderator to ensure the assessments comply to the assessment policies and procedure and have been carried out in a fair, reliable and valid manner. o Learner achievements must be sent to the Professional Body who will then issue a certificate of competence against the designation and a license to operate which will be valid for 3 years. 11

12 WHAT IS A REGISTERED ASSESSOR? A registered assessor is a person who has met the registration criteria and is registered with the relevant SETA to perform assessments on specific qualifications and / or unit standards that the assessor has been registered for. A registered assessor is called in by the Training Provider (he/she may be employed by the Training provider, but must not be the Trainer who has carried out the training) after the learner has completed the desired learning programme, to assess the learner against the unit standards of the learning programme. The Assessor s job is to assess whether the learner is competent or not yet competent ensuring that the principles of assessment and the assessment policies and procedures are adhered to. WHAT IS THE RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING? Recognition of prior learning (RPL) means the comparison of the previous learning, experience and knowledge of a learner howsoever obtained against the learning outcomes required for a specified qualification or unit standard. The purpose of RPL is therefore to identify, assess, recognise and improve a learner s status in terms of what he/she knows and can do against national standards and qualifications. The learning that is recognised could include various means such as formal education and training programmes, formal and informal on the job education and training, self study and experience and in-house education and training. Instead of going through a training programme anyone with the said experience as stated above may put themselves forward by contacting an accredited training provider to obtain all the necessary information before being assessed. Guide to implementing training 1