Every 5 years or 1 year? We won't have a say. It will just be imposed on us.
At the end of the day ACS is a paper pass the buck excersise. It is not designed to fail, (2 attempts then spear the answer out of you by interrogation) if it was who would do the work? The few who could pass closed book would never be able to cope with the work demand and the powers that be know this. So, they put us through this sham every 5 years, not for the benefit of few, but for the many. You could be brain dead and illiterate and still pass. Those who fail should be ............well i just deleted that bit..........it wasn't nice..........to them!
Once you have "passed" you are then officially the "responsible person" ie the buck stops with you. It is your call but call it wrong and you will pay the price personally.
The main beneficiaries are the industry built up around training. There will never be a need or call for less training, only more.
In house training will happen as the influence of the big players is too great to resist. Generally the likes of BG are far in advance of smaller companies with their in house stuff as it is.
Transco already do this through Advantica and believe me there is no impartiality on that side. It is a lot more in depth and far stricter.
What they do need to look at is on the job experience tied in to the ACS which i have many opinions on but don't know the answer to, but neither do those in charge.
The whole fast track system is flawed in this respect. How much is enough experience? 10, 20, 30 jobs? who can say. Everyone is different. Only the man giving the practical training knows what that person is like. Some may be quick to learn, some may be slow.
This goes back to a proper apprenticeship. Anyone who has had an apprentice under them knows what they are capable of doing without supervision and let them progress accordingly. Some will take to the gas it in a few months, some will take to other things quicker and may take years to be ready.
As an employer and trainer, i personally know when someone is capable of being let loose as would any journeyman.
I (unlike any training establishments AND the ruling bodies) have a conscience. I could never let a lad loose who didn't know what he was doing even if he thought he could. He would be ready when i decided. If he fkd up then i have too, in my responsibility not only to him but to the public.
Perhaps i may be old fashioned in my thinking but i know any apprentice (trainee if you like) i have ever had, knew what he was doing before i let him do it on his own unsupervised.
Our world is changing and not all for the good but we have little influence over it