Vocational Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management

This qualification covers the skills and knowledge required by technical specialists who already have a relevant higher education or vocational qualification, or have extensive vocational experience without formal qualifications and require the competence to coordinate environmental monitoring and management activities at a site, or for a significant environmental management program or project.

This qualification was developed in response to a widespread industry shortage of technicians and (para) professionals who have the detailed knowledge and practical skills required to oversee day-to-day environmental monitoring and management programs and remediation or rehabilitation activities. It has strong industry support.

Job roles/employment outcomes

The MSS70211 Vocational Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management provides training in advanced environmental monitoring, technology and data analysis techniques for individuals who have some previous training or work experience in environmental monitoring and technology at AQF V or higher. Job roles targeted by this qualification include environmental site coordinators, environmental managers and senior environmental officers employed by enterprises/authorities in a wide range of industry sectors, such as:

environmental monitoring and management services (e.g. air, water, soil and noise)

environmental compliance, auditing and inspection

geotechnical services

natural resource management

occupational hygiene monitoring (e.g. air, noise and radiation)

water supply and treatment, storm and wastewater management

solid and hazardous waste management

site remediation or rehabilitation

resource efficiency consultancy (e.g. energy, water and waste auditing).

Note that the term ‘manager’ is used to refer to management of a function, project and /or program and does not necessarily imply line management.

The specific job role of personnel will depend on whether they are employed in the private or public sector and which industry sector. They may individually, or as part of a team:

interpret and implement environmental monitoring, management and/or sustainability policies, plans and strategies for sites, catchment areas and regions

plan, resource and execute a wide range of environmental management activities (e.g. sampling, monitoring, impact/risk assessments, remediation and rehabilitation) for sites, catchment areas and regions

undertake complex environmental management project work

monitor legislative requirements and develop responses on behalf of the enterprise/authority

ensure enterprise legislative compliance through performance monitoring and auditing

process, verify and analyse monitoring data

develop and trial environmental management options

liaise with regulatory bodies about permits, approvals and compliance matters

liaise with local stakeholders, contractors and consultants about environmental issues and/or technical matters

present environmental information to clients and members of the community

contribute to environmental decision making

provide information and training to site personnel (e.g. environmental management obligations and responsibilities, specific sampling/monitoring methods and instrument use)

develop, implement and improve procedures and work instructions for enterprise personnel who conduct, sampling, field testing, hazard control, waste minimisation, site remediation and environmental audits/inspections

define and solve complex problems by investigating, developing and/or testing alternatives that may involve incomplete or ill-defined information

contribute to improving enterprise/authority environmental performance

prepare costings and proposals, and manage project finances

report environmental performance and the progress and outcomes of projects within broad scope of accountability.

Environmental site coordinators, environmental managers and senior environmental officers require a detailed knowledge of the environmental management policies and legislative requirements that are relevant to their enterprise or authority’s business activities and must be able to explain these to other site personnel. They require highly specialised knowledge of environmental monitoring methods, instrumentation and processing of large data sets. They must also understand the complexity of industry processes and/or ecosystems that they are working with; the likely environmental impacts of development and human activities (e.g. air, soil, noise, water and resource use); as well as strategies for minimising these impacts and the remediation or rehabilitation of sites/areas. They need well developed operational planning and complex problem-solving skills, supervision and communication skills along with liaison, negotiation skills and report writing skills. They work under broad direction from environmental scientists, engineers and planners.

This qualification applies to environmental site coordinators, environmental managers and senior environmental officers who oversee environmental monitoring and management activities at a site or for a significant environmental management program or project.


Subjects

To be awarded the MSS70211 Vocational Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management, competency must be achieved in a total of twelve (12) units of competency.

five (5) core units of competency

seven (7) elective units of competency, as specified below.

The core units listed below are considered to be essential for all environmental site coordinators, environmental managers and senior environmental officers. The units listed as electives may only apply to some personnel according to the size and scope of their particular enterprise and the industry sectors that they work in.

Note: Units with prerequisites are marked with an asterisk. Refer to the unit for details.

Core units of competency

Complete all five (5) of the following units of competency.

Unit code

Unit title

P

add topic MSS027001A

Coordinate environmental management activities

add topic MSS027002A

Apply environmental legislation, codes and standards

add topic MSS027003A

Provide environmental advice to clients

add topic MSAENV472B

Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

add topic MSL944001A

Maintain laboratory/field workplace safety

Elective units of competency

Complete seven (7) elective units of competency, made up of:

a minimum of three (3) units from Group A

the balance of units, to a maximum of four (4), may be selected from:

Group A units, not previously selected

Group B units, listed below.

Group A: Elective units

Unit code

Unit title

P

add topic MSS027004A

Contribute to environmental decision making

add topic MSS027005A

Contribute to improving environmental performance

add topic MSS027006A

Coordinate water quality management activities

*

add topic MSS027007A

Coordinate air quality management activities

*

add topic MSS027008A

Coordinate noise management activities

*

add topic MSS027009A

Coordinate site remediation or rehabilitation activities

*

add topic MSS027010A

Undertake complex environmental project work

add topic MSS027011A

Select, commission and maintain environmental monitoring instruments

add topic MSS027012A

Implement and monitor the site OHS management system

*

add topic MSAENV672B

Develop workplace policy and procedures for environmental sustainability

add topic BSBOHS605B

Apply occupational hygiene principles to control OHS risk

add topic LGAPLEM506A

Improve community knowledge and skills in environmental management practices

add topic PUAWER010B

Lead a workplace emergency initial response team

add topic RIINHB408A

Supervise environmental drilling operations

add topic RIIPRM501A

Implement, monitor, rectify and report on contracts

Group B: Elective units

Unit code

Unit title

P

add topic MSS015005A

Develop required sustainability reports

add topic MSS015018A

Inform and advise organisation and community representatives on sustainability issues

add topic MSS025005A

Produce site maps

*

add topic MSS025006A

Collect and evaluate groundwater data

add topic MSS025007A

Perform sampling and testing of soils

*

add topic MSS025008A

Monitor and evaluate noise

add topic MSS025009A

Perform sampling and testing of air

add topic MSS025010A

Assist with odour source assessment

add topic MSS025011A

Assist with odour field assessment

add topic MSS025013A

Assist with assessing and monitoring wetlands

add topic MSS025014A

Perform sampling and testing of contaminated sites

*

add topic MSS025016A

Perform sampling and testing of stationary emissions

add topic MSS024005A

Collect spatial and discrete environmental data

add topic MSS024006A

Perform sampling and testing of water

add topic MSS024007A

Collect and evaluate meteorological data

add topic MSS024008A

Recognise common geological landforms and samples

add topic MSS024009A

Assist with assessing and monitoring stormwater systems

add topic MSL974007A

Undertake environmental field-based monitoring

add topic MSL974009A

Undertake field-based, remote sensing

add topic MSL975011A

Design and supervise complex environmental field surveys

*

add topic PSPRAD707A

Monitor radiation

A maximum of two (2) Group B units may be chosen from this Training Package, other endorsed Training Packages and accredited courses, where those units are available at Diploma level and above.


Pathways...

    Not applicable.


Entry Requirements

Entrants to the MSS70211 Vocational Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management are required to have one of the following:

relevant extensive vocational practice without formal qualifications

a relevant Diploma, such as MSS50211 Diploma of Environmental Monitoring and Technology, together with significant relevant vocational practice

a Bachelor Degree in Environmental Management, Environmental Science or Science in a relevant discipline, such as chemistry, ecology or geology

a relevant higher education qualification, with relevant vocational practice.

For the purposes of this qualification, the term ‘vocational practice’ is defined as performing a wide range of environmental sampling, monitoring, field-testing, inspection/auditing and/or data processing tasks for enterprises in any of the industry sectors listed above.


Licensing Information

There are no specific licences that relate to this qualification. However, depending on the jurisdiction, licensing or regulatory requirements may apply to the use of some units in this qualification. Local regulations should be checked for details.


Employability Skills

The following table contains a summary of the employability skills as identified by industry for this qualification. This table should be interpreted in conjunction with the detailed requirements of each unit of competency packaged in this qualification. The outcomes described here are broad industry requirements that reflect skill requirements for this level.

Employability Skill

Industry/enterprise requirements for this qualification include:

Communication

Liaise with local stakeholders, contractors and consultants about complex environmental issues and/or technical matters

Liaise with regulatory bodies about permits, approvals and compliance matters

Present environmental information to clients and members of the community

Liaise with suppliers about technical matters (e.g. equipment, samples and laboratory test results)

Interpret complex sampling, monitoring and test methods and environmental management procedures

Explain environmental management responsibilities and specified management actions to site personnel

Prepare complex technical reports and contributions to major project documents

Obtain sign-off for results and/or outputs from relevant persons

Teamwork

Work autonomously or as part of a team

Contribute to complex risk/impact assessment studies and environmental decision making

Contribute to developing and/or validating sampling, monitoring and field testing procedures

Contribute to improving environmental performance at sites

Problem solving

Analyse and solve coordination problems to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of day-to-day environmental management activities

Investigate data quality issues

Determine root causes of problems with sampling, monitoring and/or field-testing procedures and/or instrument performance

Evaluate options for improving environmental performance and quality, including corrective and/or preventative actions

Initiative and enterprise

Research current and new environmental management case studies or technical developments and assess their significance for the site, project, program or own job role

Network with other technical specialists to extend personal knowledge

Recognise opportunities improving environmental performance and quality and recommend improvement strategies

Planning and organising

Prioritise, plan and coordinate environmental management activities

Determine resource requirements for activities, projects, programs and organise/optimise resource use in work area

Organise schedules to optimise work outputs without sacrificing quality

Adjust plans to suit new information, changing conditions and priorities

Self-management

Manage own time and establish own work schedule

Monitor and evaluate own work quality

Maintain professional and ethical standards in own work

Comply with legislative requirements, codes of practice and organisational policies and procedures

Learning

Identify opportunities for continuing learning and development

Maintain knowledge of environmental issues, current management strategies and new developments in environmental monitoring instruments and techniques relevant to job role

Technology

Set up and optimise sampling, monitoring and field-testing instruments/equipment to obtain reliable results

Conduct routine maintenance of monitoring instruments used in job role and conduct straightforward repairs

Use instrument control software, enterprise information management systems, information directories, databases, online data search facilities and computer networks