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Personnel Competency Training
Q. Do I need any specific qualifications prior to joining one of the courses?
A. Not necessarily. If you're already working in that area and have significant experience, that may be enough. The best thing to do is give us a call or email us to find out more about the particular course you're interested in and whether there are any specific qualification requirements.
Q. How long does each training course take?
A. Each course is different. For example, the EAL Verified Explosive Atmospheres Course takes 1.5 days practical and 3 days for theory, or just 3 days if you're only doing the theory part. To find out about the specific requirements for the course (s) you're interested in, just click on the link on our website.
Q. Do Baseefa offer both training and competence checks?
A. Yes, we do, but we have separate teams working on each area. To find out more about our competence checks, click on http://www.competency.baseefa.com
Q. Why can't I just do the training and get a competence assessment at the same time?
A. It's important to keep the training and the competence separate, as it's vital that the competence checks are done in an objective way by people who have not been involved in delivering the training. That ensures that there is an independent verification of quality and standards which gives your clients the confidence that you really do know what you're doing.
Q. Where does the training take place?
A. Normally at our offices in Buxton, but some of the practical sessions are delivered at a local college.
Q. Can you come to my organisation and deliver the training to a number of our operatives at once?
A. We'd be happy to talk to you about delivering either off the shelf or bespoke training at your workplace. If you have five or more people who need training, it usually works out cheaper for us to come to you. If you want to talk to someone about your requirements, please give us a ring and we'll find out more about what you want, then come up with some proposals and costs.
Costs
Q. How much does each training course cost?
A. Our standard costs are £695, plus VAT, for a two day course, and £385, plus VAT, for a one day course. For one of our specialist trainers to come to you is £3,000, plus VAT, for a two day course, so for five or more participants, this is the most economical option.
Q. Do I have to pay up front or is it possible to pay in instalments?
A. Normally we ask people to pay in full at the beginning of the training course, but if this causes you any difficulties, then please talk to us about it and we'll see what we can do.
Q. Do you take credit cards?
A. Yes, we can accept most major credit cards up to a certain limit
Q. I'm an individual wanting to pay for myself - is there any financial support available to help me cover the costs?
A. We can't offer any financial support, but we would recommend that you talk to your employer to see if they are willing to support you. In some cases, there may also be support available from your local authority or business support organisation, so it's worth contacting them to see if they can help.
Key facts
Q. What is the difference between an operative and a responsible person?
A. An operative is the individual who carries out the specific task or area of work, whereas the responsible person is the one who has overall responsibility for ensuring that the work is completed to the appropriate standards.
Q. Is it possible for the same person to carry out both roles?
A. It is essential that the operative and responsible person roles are carried out by different people, as the verification that the work has been done to the
required standards has to be conducted by someone who can take an objective view - ie not the person who actually does the work in the first place. However, it is possible for one person to perform both roles, but not on the same task. So, even if you are a designated responsible person, if you have carried out a task, you must get it verified by another responsible person.
Q. Is the competence attached to an individual or an organisation? - if an operative with a competence assessment leaves, will we have to resubmit a competency application?
A. The answer is both. When the individual is successfully assessed for competence, both the individual and the organisation are then deemed to be competent. If that individual is the only one in the organisation with that particular competence, then if he or she leaves, the organisation would need to put another individual through the competence assessment if they want to retain their accreditation.
Q. Do you have different teams for training and competence certification?
A. Yes, we do, to ensure an objective approach to both training and competence certification.
Using the new competence website
Q. If I'm from an organisation looking for competent operatives, how can I be sure everyone registered on the site has an up to date certification?
A. Anyone applying to join our list of competent operatives will be thoroughly checked out before they are accepted for inclusion, so you can be confident that anyone you find through the website does have up to date certification. The onus is on the individual to let us know of any change in circumstances though. If you're in any doubt, contact us and we'll do the checking for you.
Q. What if there is no-one registered in the area I'm looking for?
A. Contact us directly. We may know of someone who is just about to be approved for registration and could advise you accordingly.
Q. Do I have to pay to use the competence website?
A. No, the competence website is free of charge for those seeking suppliers with relevant competence.
Q. Is the competence certification applicable worldwide or is it just UK - I'm looking for operatives for our site in India?
A. The scheme is an international competence scheme supported by IECEx and is therefore applicable worldwide. However, there may be additional national requirements depending on where you are operating, so it is important to double check the local requirements as well.
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