Record of learning audits need detail

An essential element for maintaining the credibility of the Licensed Building Practitioners (LBP) scheme is ongoing skills maintenance. Its overarching goal is to ensure that the sector undertakes professional development in line with changing regulations, technology and construction practices, health and safety and running a business.

LBPs are required to keep a record of learning to be submitted by their licence renewal date. As part of the renewal process, applicants, selected at random, will have their record of learning audited – LBP scheme registrar Mark Scully says this process is catching some by surprise.

It’s fair to say that while many participants have kept reasonable records there are also some who have only basic notes and others who have little or no record at all.

“We are currently in a pilot phase for the audit process. The minimum expectation of an LBP around skills maintenance is to gather a record of learning with evidence of the activities undertaken.

“It’s fair to say that while many participants have kept reasonable records, there are also some who have only basic notes and others who have little or no record at all.

“Lack of record keeping has caused difficulty for some of those audited. It is not uncommon for auditors to receive a running tally from the back of a builder’s diary as a record of learning.

“To make an accurate assessment, auditors need as much evidence of skills maintenance as an LBP can provide; if they can detail what they learned, that’s even better – a list written down once or twice a year doesn’t show much about what the LBP has done or what they have learned,” says Mr Scully

“As the audit pilot has progressed, it has become evident that there is a need to better assess actual learning and how it was applied to the job, rather than just evidence of participation. It is likely that over the next few years, we will develop processes to improve our assessment of what an LBP learned. We need to ensure the validity of the scheme to give consumers confidence in our industry,” he says.

As the development of the skills maintenance assessment continues, PlaceMakers will continue to support its builders with informative seminars and the ongoing publication of Under Construction. Keep an eye out for our next round of skills maintenance seminars – the industry keeps changing and we aim to keep you across it!