Training in the waste and resources sector is becoming even more important for those working in the industry. Waste crime and prosecutions are on the rise, health and safety is high on the agenda and more and more teams are realising the importance of up-skilling their staff and maintaining an essential baseline of waste management knowledge.
For local authorities, austerity is taking its toll as budget cuts lead to job losses and restructuring, and staff are taking with them knowledge skills that aren’t being replaced.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, there are solutions out there and leading innovative work going on across the industry which others are already adopting and learning from. One area where CIWM has seen a significant increase in interest is tailored in-company training for local authorities.
Improving staff knowledge, identifying opportunities, remaining compliant and evolving and strengthen existing services seem to be the main drivers for this increased focus on training although there is a real variety in the specific needs of different local authorities.
CIWM tutors are regularly being asked for advice on benchmarking performance, streamlining working practices and buying services more effectively and some of the most popular courses of late have included duty of care, hazardous waste, contract essentials and legislation. Alongside these specific courses however, there is also an increase in demand for more generic introductory training for whole teams and even departments.
And so whilst local authorities share many of the same waste and resources challenges it’s interesting to see how they are adopting very different approaches to managing these and seizing their opportunities.
There’s no doubt that the next four years will remain tough for local authorities and they will need to continue to evolve and adapt to face these new challenges.
Investing more time and resources in relevant training should remain a key priority to stay resilient and deliver the most efficient and appropriate services to customers and there is a wealth of knowledge and support already out there to support these objectives.
Some of the very latest resource and waste management courses can be found in the new 2017 CIWM training brochure which have been designed specifically to meet the industry’s needs and include the latest legislation and best-practice advice.
Click here to download the latest CIWM training brochure.
Any local authority booking a 2017 course before the 24 December will benefit from up to 20% on courses.
Find out more by speaking to the CIWM training team on 01604 823349 or email training@ciwm.co.uk
