Qualification details

Modification History

Not applicable.

Description

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.

Application 

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.

Pathways Information

Not applicable.

Licensing/Regulatory 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.

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.

Employability Skills Summary

Packaging Rules

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.

• 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 

Group B: Elective units 

Custom Content Section

Not applicable.