Racking industry NVQ

A company that supplies, inspects and repairs pallet racking has created the industry's first accredited qualification.Managers at the Rack Group, in Barnsley, devised the NVQ because of concerns over health and safety issues within the industry.

Rack Group director Simon Lee said: "The racking industry is serviced by unqualified people who can be working at heights of up to 30m and they can do that with little or no training.

"The NVQ provides a much needed standard for the industry; other similar industries have standards and qualifications. Until this qualification was created the level of competency of people building pallet racking was not measured." One of the first to receive the NVQ level 2 is 62-year-old Mick Green, who has never had a qualification in his life before.