Belfast City Council serves an overall population of approximately 330,000 people providing a wide range of services including leisure, parks, waste management, tourism, commercial permitting, street cleansing, planning and building control, recycling, etc.
The council employs some 400+ staff directly involved in their Cleansing Services that includes management of the City’s waste, environmental and street cleansing activities.
Since its establishment, Practical Waste Solutions Ltd have provided training and competence assessment services to the City Council over the years adapting to the council’s need for competent staff and their requirement to place high quality personnel on the ground.
Waste Management Awards
Primarily, staff involved within the Cleansing Services department within the council have engaged in WAMITAB awards, undergoing training and assessment in a range of waste orientated protocols ensuring a sustainable, compliant service. The level of training and assessment provided by Practical Waste Solutions Ltd has certified senior managers within the council with Level 4 waste management competency awards with Level 3 and Level 2 qualifications being successfully obtained by supervisory staff and operational personnel. These awards have not only granted and confirmed high levels of skill throughout the Cleansing Services department but the programme has developed a knowledge base and work-pride culture within the cleansing facilities team.
Customer Care
Practical Waste Solutions Ltd were approached by Belfast City Council to design a bespoke training package centred on Customer Care, primarily for their waste management staff having direct contact with the public. The resulting course we developed took advantage of our many years of experience in the waste management sector and dealing with specific local community’s waste concerns.
Essentially a one day training course; it included methods of enhancing customer care, specific organisational procedures, identifying potential incidents and dealing with unacceptable behaviour. The course was effective in helping individuals deal with situations that, unfortunately, front line staff may find themselves in. The training was expanded and provided to all direct Cleansing Services staff including both supervisors and operational personnel.