Developing a competence framework for food safety Tony Lewis, Principal Education Officer, CIEH

Competence – why?

• Process started in central government

- Performance management and cost control

- Plugging the hole in govt finances

• Cascaded into government agencies and departments

• Became an issue for EH following the HSE’s (2005) SITNA report

- A baseline comparator to apply to all and against which training resources could be more effectively provided

• Now a facet of ‘world class’ regulation

• Anderson Review

• Pennington

Building competence

Knowledge

Skills

Competencies

Capability

Competence

Excellence ?The Professional Development Stairway to Competence

The journey to ‘capable’ as an EHP is via the qualification process

‘Capability’ to ‘competence’ achieved via experience, peer review + reflective practice

Where are we now

• Framework for H&S (RDNA) complete and launched in January 09

• Framework for health protection complete and launched (by ‘Skills for Health’ as National Occupational Standards)

• Framework for PH complete and launched (Cube)

• Frameworks developed and about to be piloted in food safety and housing

• Framework for port health and contaminated land are under development

• LBRO and partners are working on a combined framework for local government regulatory services – supported by LACoRS

• Discussions under way with BRC to develop a framework for commercially-based EH

Regulators’ DNA Tool for Health and Safety:

Skills / Knowledge / Behaviour

The Regulators’ DNA Tool: Contents

Website

Website

• Encourage career-long learning

• Maintain and develop skills against a changing environment

• Maintain the disciplines of learning and continuous professional development applied during training

• Encourage and support more effective development action planning

• Encourage and support reflective learning

Why bother?

• More structured, consistent and robust approach to identifying development needs at individual and line manager level

• Support to Managers to help meet some of these locally

• Support to individuals in developing themselves

• Provides a shield against challenge to our decisions that is far more robust than a qualification certificate and experience

• Once a standard is ‘out there’ and endorsed by a body of some standing it will become ‘compulsory’ by virtue of legal reference

Why bother?

Draft food safety framework• Work to develop the framework been

ongoing for >12 months

• Partnership approach to development:

- CIEH, REHIS, TSI, LACoRS, FSA, APHA, HSE etc

• Draft for consultation completed this week

• Consultation process finalised this week

Consultation process

• Being overseen by Gary Telfer at CIEH (g.telfer@cieh.org)

• Commences with launch in EHN 7th/8th May

Consultation process

• Draft posted on CIEH website

• Article in EHN highlighting its presence on website and inviting comments. Highlighting that it’s a framework for Food Safety Inspectors, not necessarily Regulators

• Comments to be invited from all but particularly from members working in the food industry, in Scotland and EH colleagues working overseas (particularly in Malaysia and Hong Kong)

• Ask CIEH ISIG to highlight presence on web to their contacts overseas

• Letter to be sent to regions asking them to send copy to their food study groups, or authorities with a particular interest

• Framework to be handed to pilot LAs for use

• Date for return of comments, 30th June 2009

The food framework

• Mirrors the structure of H&S RDNA

- Background and aims

- Purpose of the framework

- How to use the framework

- Guidance on logging responses to framework questions

Food framework (2)

• Core behavioral competences

- Being open and communicative

- Acting professionally

- Taking personal responsibility

- Valuing people

- Innovating and learning

- Applying and developing job-related expertise

Food framework (3)

• IT competences

• Organisational competences

• Literacy and numeracy

• Problem solving from first principles

Food framework (4)

• Regulatory Core

- To enforce food law, applying the Food Law Code of Practice

- To deploy a range of enforcement interventions (In order to secure compliance, learn lessons and improve conditions)

- To advise and influence

- Research, understand, retain, prioritise and use knowledge effectively

- Train and educate (self and others)

- Plan organise and prioritise

Food framework (5)

• Assessment of critical controls

• Partnership working

• Business awareness

Food framework (6)

• Technical knowledge framework

- Food technology

- Food standards

- Food nutrition and health

- Food safety and hygiene

- Prescribed legislation

Questions?

Tony Lewis

Principal Education Officer, CIEH

t.lewis@cieh.org

Tel: 0207 827 5907