Gas

Skills registrations in the upstream gas industry grew out of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) register which included utility workers who held Gas Distribution (GD) qualifications. With the formation of GINTO in 2000 these workers were transferred and new non-renewable registration cards were issued. GD endorsements were obtained through attendance of the relevant training course and followed by a probationary period. Trainees were at no stage assessed against National Occupational Standards. As such, the decision was taken by the gas networks that GD cards could not be renewed and all operatives would have to complete a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), primarily Gas Network Operations (GNO) to ensure a high skill level across the industry.

In 2001 employers within the Cross Country Pipelines sector approached Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) with the aim of creating a health, safety and environmental awareness passport scheme to apply nationwide. Due to the nature of cross country pipeline projects the highly skilled labour moves with the project but labour is also recruited locally. The passport scheme was developed in line with Health & Safety Executive (HSE) best practice guidelines and proved successful with the employers, although the target workforce was always going to be small.

After seeing the success of the Cross Country Pipelines Health, Safety and Environment passport (CCPHSE) scheme the gas networks asked for a similar passport scheme to be developed for operatives working on the wider gas network. This has now evolved into Utility SHEA (Gas).

Energy & Utility Skills Register (EUSR) schemes within the gas industry now provide a clear registration of an operatives skills and awareness, with an internet accessible database to verify registrations quickly and easily. At the start of 2009 approximately 35,000 gas operatives were registered.