Learning with Lego

As little as five years ago, the post of Recycling Officer, now ubiquitous in local authorities, was a fairly new creation with no standard of best practice. All this is set to change with WRAP's training programme for recycling managers. Nicola Martin gets to grip with one of the training tools: Lego.

To say that WRAP's (Waste & Resources Action Programme) training courses are popular is an understatement. Since being introduced in 2002, more than 2,000 people have gone back to the classroom to increase their knowledge of the recycling sector. Aimed primarily at individuals from local authorities, there has also been interest from the third sector and even the private sector, with the number of people taking the courses having increased substantially over the last few years. But what makes the courses so special?

Elaine Lockley, who oversees the quality assurance of the course, explains: "The demand for the courses has increased, and that is probably for two reasons. First of all, there's the reputation of the course. In terms of word of mouth, people who have been on it have said how useful it was to them. Secondly, the recycling sector itself has grown tremendously. So you're getting an influx of new people all the time."

The training consists of two main courses: Phase 1 is designed as an introduction to organising recycling schemes; while Phase 2 is a more in-depth, advanced course. The proportion of delegates who go on to take Phase 2, after graduating from Phase 1, is said to be substantial. Indeed, Elaine says the demand for advanced training that she has encountered, both from delegates and from ROTATE advisors who work with local authorities is encouraging: "The development of the courses is very much demand-led. We've identified a need, which led to the development of a series of optional courses and the development of Phase 2, a more advanced course."

The way that the courses are taught involves a "blended learning approach", says Elaine. Put simply, this ensures that delegates do not just sit in a classroom, staring at a blackboard, like "bored schoolchildren", but learn through various activities. Last year, WRAP introduced an online learning element and now, before attending the residential part of the course, delegates engage in e-learning to ensure that their knowledge is up to the right specification.

Helen Entwistle, Recycling Officer at Veolia ES Southwark and a recent graduate of the course, says: "The online part just helps you get a bit of information and know a bit more about what the course is going to involve. So everyone starts off on the same basic level. It allows you to check that you know the information you should know, and gives you some pointers if you don't know it. It's helpful, just to get your brain in the right direction."

The residential part of the course involves an intensive three and a half days, with, typically, 15-20 people per group. Helen reflects that one of the most positive aspects of the course for her was getting to know some of her colleagues in recycling and waste management. They are contacts that she has maintained: "It's good to have people to keep in touch with, to get best practice from and stuff like that. They're useful contacts to have." WRAP also facilitates keeping in touch with classmates through their online discussion forums for people on the same course.

During the classroom part of the course, traditional lecture style is kept to a minimum. Most of the learning is geared towards group work and exercises or mini-tasks. Helen comments: "During the tasks, whatever we'd learned, we could put into practice straight away. So it got ingrained in our minds. And any problems, we could discuss them immediately with the tutors. It was a very good way of using what we'd learned to check we'd fully understood it. And then being able to discuss all of that together." Elaine echoes this idea: "It's about people learning from each other. It's not just trainers delivering training. It's a group of professional people learning from each other."

That said, one of the Phase 1 exercises initially seems like something that wouldn't be amiss in a nursery: Delegates learn about set out rates, capture rates and participation rates, by using toy trucks and Lego bricks representing different types of waste! The exercise is certainly fun, but Elaine says it's also an effective way of learning how to calculate rates of participation, capture and recognition.

The course emphasises not just giving delegates a long list of facts, but also teaching them essential skills for their role within the recycling sector.

Another exercise involves delegates identifying different factors that have to be considered when planning changes and/or improvements to the recycling services that they offer. Elaine explains: "It's about taking delegates through a process, so that they develop the knowledge and skills to effectively plan changes/improvements to the recycling services that their local authorities provide. I think that's the important thing. It is about planning for improvements - rather than just saying, 'ooh, that's a good idea, let's do that'."

In fact, the learning process is methodical. Broadly, Helen describes it so: "First, we looked at the actual collection side of things, through to the operational side of things. Then we looked at contracts, so that that aspect could be considered. And then we looked at the communications. We learned how you could effectively communicate the changes that had been made to the public, so that you didn't just have a good scheme that no one knew about - you had a good scheme, where people knew what they were meant to be doing and how they could get involved."

A training manual that delegates are able to take away and use as a reference, backs up all that they learn during the residential part of the course. "The training manual is very impressive, very in-depth," comments Helen. "It has everything in much greater detail than we could have gone into on the course. It's all up to date with legislation and information. Very comprehensive."

WRAP's training programme is clearly fulfilling an important need within the waste and resource management industry. Elaine comments that, "even when no one from WRAP is around, the comments I get about the courses are always extremely positive".