Events

Qualifications that deliver (May 2008) 

Spring is an exciting time for Skills for Logistics ® with two new qualifications – Warehousing and Storage, and Logistics Operations Management - launched in April 2008. A third, International Trade and Logistics Operations, will be launched in the autumn.

Warehousing and Storage replaces Distribution, Warehousing and Storage Operations and Storage and Warehousing. The aim was to create a single qualification structure, eliminating duplication and the confusion that went with it. Feedback so far has been good, with the main feeling being that the new, streamlined standards are definitely a step in the right direction.


S/NVQ Warehousing and Storage is available at Levels 1 and 2. A Level 1 award is particularly important for new entrants to the sector.

A significant proportion of potential Level 1 candidates are not yet in relevant employment. Therefore, to open the qualification up to those who are in training, and to attract new people into the industry, the Skills for Logistics ® Assessment Strategy has been revised to allow for Level 1 to be assessed in an approved realistic working environment – a move that has been widely welcomed.

Logistics Operations Management was a project that successfully teased out those aspects of operations management specific to logistics, in line with the ‘craft skills’ element of the logistics skills mix. This work is captured in 12 new units of national occupational standards that have been developed as S/NVQ Level 3.

The Logistics Operations Management standards were developed for use in any logistics setting, and as such they provide a progression route for those undertaking Warehousing and Storage Level 2, as two optional units are common to both qualifications.

International Trade and Logistics Operations (ITLO) is under development as a vocational unit-based qualification designed for the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). This long-awaited qualification is for those involved in arranging the transportation of international freight, whether by air, rail, sea or road – or any combination – and will fill the void left by the expiration of International Trade and Services.

In short, the QCF lends itself to developing more flexible awards and qualifications that can be tailored to specific job roles, or steps on the Professional Development Stairway, and more flexible delivery methods.

The main principle behind QCF is that a learner can accumulate ‘credit’ for each unit of assessment completed – supporting the demand for bite-sized chunks of learning – and this credit may be transferred and built up into larger chunks of learning. QCF is applicable to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a broadly similar qualifications framework (SQCF) applies in Scotland.

With International Trade and Logistics Operations, the QCF framework allows flexibility to develop an over-arching ‘knowledge’ unit that may be delivered in a non-work environment (schools, colleges, private trainers, etc) which supports the aim of attracting new people into the industry. Smaller, specialist performance and knowledge units are also being developed.

The focus of the ITLO qualification development is on a Level 2 qualification but, in the process, Level 1 and 3 awards will also be considered.

Food safety units are near to completion and are also being written as QCF awards for warehousing operatives, drivers, supervisors and managers involved with the food and drink supply chain. These will play an important role in enforcing the European Union Hygiene Regulations which require Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to be embedded.

Finally, this year sees the review of Driving Goods Vehicles. Extensive employer participation and consultation will take place across the UK to review the national occupational standards, address any issues raised by Driver CPC, and write units of assessment for the unit-based QCF qualification.

New DGV awards/qualifications will be in place by the end of the year.

To find out more about awarding bodies offering logistics qualifications, or how to get involved in any standards and qualifications work, please visit www.skillsforlogistics.org or contact Hilary Simpson at: hilary.simpson@skillsforlogistics.org or telephone 01908 313360.