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Moving into a Booming Industry
Pathway Magazine - September 2005

Asbestos was the wonder material in construction and engineering for a hundred years. It was easy to work, had excellent insulation and fire resistant properties, and it was cheap. It was used everywhere from ship building and skyscrapers to ironing boards, and even when it became clear in the 1930’s that asbestos had a darker side, it continued to be used in the UK until its complete ban in 1999.

Recent legislation has brought attention to the legacy of asbestos. Regulation 4 of The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations of 2002 now requires those responsible for the maintenance of commercial and non-domestic properties to identify and manage asbestos. Buildings constructed up to the end of the 1980’s are the main source of accidental exposures to the material, and surveys of asbestos content and careful recording and management of the material is now mandatory.

The asbestos industry has never been busier. The need for people qualified in asbestos surveying greatly outstrips demand, and specialist companies supplying asbestos management services are enjoying a boom. It is a safe and varied profession in which self employed or franchised consultants and surveyors work alongside asbestos management companies and their clients.

The work may involve asbestos surveying, which entails going through a building to identify every use of asbestos and making a register of where it is and in what condition. The requirement may be for its removal or encapsulation to make the building completely safe, but usually the asbestos is left where it is and the register made available to anyone whose work may disturb it.

The Natas:group had been providing training and accreditation to asbestos workers and HSE licensed contractors for more than a decade before Regulation 4 was even considered. It runs hundreds of courses across the UK and Ireland each year from full asbestos contractors licensing and revalidation to training in Duty to Manage Asbestos, Asbestos Surveying & Identification and Asbestos Management in Buildings.

The organisation works closely with Business Development Service, a midlands based supplier of advisory and support services which trains people in new business planning and start-ups. NATAS and Business Development Service work together to provide both the asbestos services skills needed to launch a career or business in asbestos surveying, and the business knowledge needed to make it work.

A three-day business course covers all new business eventualities for people going into self-employment. The NATAS courses can run for up to four days depending on the level and subject, and provide the student with the knowledge, skills and accreditation to conduct asbestos surveys in compliance with the control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002.

The British Occupational Hygiene Society course P402 which is run by NATAS, provides the background and practical knowledge in the surveying of buildings for the presence of asbestos and any necessary bulk sampling that may be required. The module is at a proficiency level which aims to provide the student with the practical knowledge and skills to be able to carry out the stated work.

‘Asbestos surveying is the most buoyant sector of the construction and building management market at the moment,’ comment Max Lopacki, Managing Director of NATAS. ‘There will never be a better time for people looking for a second career to move into the asbestos industry, and to progress once they are there.

NATAS has been recognised as a learning provider under the Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme, and up to 90 per cent of the cost of the NATAS and Business Development Service course can be claimed under the scheme by people retraining on leaving the armed forces.

Further information about natas:group is available by from 0870 751 1880 or info@natasgroup.co.uk.