DRILLING AND SAWING ASSOCIATION

OPERATOR ACCREDITATION AND TRAINING SCHEMES FOR SKILLS CERTIFICATES

Since 1994, the Committee of the Association has been committed to providing a Training/Certification Scheme that:-

Creates a nucleus of experienced and qualified operators.

Gives main contractors and other clients the confidence to use members that employ operators who have been assessed against accepted criteria.

Helps raise standards of safety and competence within the construction industry.

Is in line with general assessment and training arrangements in construction.
The original DSA Certification Scheme was set up in conjunction with the CITB and resulted in the issue of Certificates of Competence by the CITB. These certificates offered evidence that the individual had been independently assessed in specific categories of drilling and sawing equipment against standards of safety and competence agreed with the CITB.

CSCS Cards

Despite this initial success, the Committee have continued to stay abreast of current assessment and training developments. They have therefore entered into an arrangement with the CSCS Scheme Management resulting in the production of a CSCS Card in drilling and sawing work .

The following grades of cards are available:

Trainee card (3 Year)
Experienced worker card (1 year only)
Full skills card

Management Accreditation

NVQ in Drilling and Sawing

The issue of the CSCS Card is based on the completion of an NVQ Level 2in Diamond Drilling and Sawing. This NVQ was introduced recently as a Joint Venture between the DSA and the CITB.

An NVQ Level 2 in Drilling and Sawing can be achieved by one of the following routes:

undertaking the Drilling and Sawing Apprenticeship Scheme
completing the On-site Assessment and Testing (OSAT) route
undertaking the Experienced Worker Practical Assessment (EWPA) route

Training

From November 2004, the DSA introduced an Apprenticeship Training Scheme for operators which provides a formal training programme to agreed national standards.

Completion of the 2 year training programme qualifies the participants for an NVQ Level 2 in Drilling and Sawing, which then entitles them to a full specialist card. This scheme is currently responsible for training 150+ operators.

CITB Grant Scheme

Grants are available form the CITB towards the cost of :-
- NVQ Registration, Assessment and Achievement
- Approved Training Courses
- Development of Company Training Plans.

An electronic version of the grant scheme booklet is available from Helen Ludlow at CITB on 01509 282857 or you can receive it
by e-mail from helen.ludlow@citb.co.uk or the construction skills website http://www.constructionskills.net/

Since February 2007, all CSCS, NVQ and Apprenticeship arrangements have been transferred to a new company -
DSA Training Ltd - Tel: +44 (0) 115 986 7029 - Fax: +44 (0) 115 985 0341 Email: info@dsatraining.co.uk

Further information regarding DSA/CSCS Certificates of Competence and other initiatives such as NVQ’s is available from the DSA Office and by using the Request Details link.