Fully Funded Education
Recently the in-house
magazine for Southwest Water outlined a new initiative by Unite the
Union in partnership with City of Plymouth College, N-Gaged, and
the Union Learn Centre (St Austell).
With the support and encouragement of company
management the project aimed to provide an opportunity for
employees to gain further education or enhance existing skills for
use within the work place.
As with all new schemes getting it off the
ground was the hardest part. We were therefore pleased to announce
that the second cohort of Students enrolled on their Information
Technology Qualification (ITQ) Level 2 course at St. Austell Union
Learn centre in the autumn.
This brought the total of wastewater operators
on this course to eight, plus one wastewater Supervisor, in
Cornwall. Wastewater Training and Development manager Gemma Hogg,
and I were both there with Dave Burtenshaw, who organised the
course to welcome the new students aboard.
Along side this, a total of ten wastewater
operators in Devon have completed their full NVQ Level 2 Plant
Operators Course, and will receive their certificates at a
presentation to be held at Peninsula House before Christmas.
What is next? I here you ask. A further 18
operators in Cornwall started their NVQ Level 2 Plant operators
Course in October. A total of twenty four operators also started IT
courses in Devon in October. Thanks to Gary Price we have the use
of the meeting room in Crediton works to use as an Education
Centre.
Eighteen operators also started their Plant
Operators NVQ 2 in October taking place at Maer Lane, Crediton,
Ashford. These courses were introductory, to get the scheme off the
ground, and are part of a wider programme to encourage up skilling
in the workplace. As these approach completion, we can start
planning for the next training.
Abridged from an article in ‘News and
Views’ written by Unite ULR Ian Watson (South West Water -
Devon)
