Competence: Guidance on Assessor Training from IMCA

Published on 28 May 2013

A competent workforce is more productive, operating with reduced risk, shorter downtime and fewer injuries. At the same time, there is need for a rigorous assessment procedure to be in place against which the workforce’s skills, forethought and judgement can be measured.

With this in mind, the IMCA Competence Assurance and Assessment guidance was originally launched by the International Marine Contractors Association in January 1999, updated in 2003 and, more recently, between 2009 and 2012. It is designed to facilitate improved safety in the offshore industry by providing a framework for IMCA’s marine contractor members to assess and demonstrate to others the competence of their safety-critical personnel.

Now IMCA has published a revised version of ‘Guidance on Assessor Training’ (IMCA C 007 Rev 1).

“IMCA does not approve or formally recognise any particular assessor training course or programme,” explains Jane Bugler, IMCA’s Technical Director. “The type of training given to an assessor is for each IMCA member to determine. However, our publication sets out aspects which would normally be included in an assessor training programme. IMCA C 007 is not intended to be used as a training document; rather it provides a checklist on topics the company should consider for inclusion in an assessor training programme which should be adapted for assessments to be undertaken.”

With sections on ‘Who Are the Assessors and What Do They Do?’; ‘Training for Assessors’; ‘Formal Assessor and Verifier Standards and Qualifications’; ‘Assessor Training Challenges’; and ‘Providing Support and Advice’, IMCA C 007 can be downloaded free of charge by members and non-members alike from the IMCA website at www.imca-int.com with printed copies available at £5.00 for members and £10 for non-members.