OVER 100 VERDANT STAFF GET QUALIFIED IN ARUN

Littlehampton, West Sussex, 1st September 2008 – Over 100 cleansing and collection staff working for municipal services specialist Verdant on its Arun District Council contract have become the first in the company to be awarded a NVQ Level 2 qualification in Waste Management Operations.

Their achievement was marked at a presentation ceremony held at the council’s offices where 120 staff received certificates for completing the IOSH ‘Working Safely’ course and the NVQ 2 qualification. They represent around 10 per cent of Verdant’s staff nationally who are participating in Verdant’s biggest skills and competency training programme.

The event was attended by Verdant’s managing director Roger Edwards, Arun business manager Laura Greenfield-Parker, and portfolio contract manager Mick Gumble, as well as by Simon Charman, the lead assessor, Adrian Gunner, managing director of the South West Regional Assessment Centre which ran the programme and Colin Rogers, services director for Arun District Council,

The training programme helps raise health & safety awareness and standards, improves efficiency and productivity, and gives manual staff a recognised vocational certificate of competency.

During the programme, which took around 10 weeks, participants had to develop a portfolio of work-based evidence used in their normal daily activities, such as round sheets, public information notices, rejected materials, and daily check sheets, and then be assessed ‘on the job’.

“This focused and practical programme formally validates staff skills and expertise, and the Arun crews are blazing an important trail for all our staff,” said Roger Edwards. “The programme gives them new skills and, importantly, produces recognised evidence of transferable professional skills.”

He explained that Verdant had won an award for its commitment to effective health and safety, and that cutting risk and accidents remained a constant focus for all staff. “Our record is excellent,” he added, “and we will continue to maintain that quality, and through this programme, will contribute to raising standards in the waste industry.”

Colin Rogers commented: “On behalf of the council, I would like to extend our congratulations to the hard-working staff who have taken the time to improve on their skills.

“We are delighted that so many staff undertook the qualification and performed so well in it. The residents of Arun will also benefit from this new training as Verdant’s staff will now be offering an even more efficient and safe waste disposal service across our district.” 
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About Verdant
Verdant Group Plc (www.verdant-group.co.uk), part of the fast-growing, recycling-led Greenstar UK group (www.greenstar.co.uk), provides high quality, efficient recycling, refuse, cleansing and grounds maintenance services for 24 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. It makes over 50 million recycling and refuse collections annually from nearly 800,000 households, and employs over 1,300 staff operating with 500+ vehicles. Hundreds of staff are participating in a government-backed skills and awareness training programme which leads to a recognised vocational qualification. Verdant’s Arun Green Waste Club in West Sussex won Best Partnership Project at the 2007 National Recycling Awards, and Verdant also won the Best Commitment to Health & Safety category of the 2005 National Recycling Awards.

For further media information, contact:

Blair Drummond, Verdant PR consultant – tel (m) 07798 686 217, email blair.drummond@btopenworld.com