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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

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Working in competence blocks

A competence block is a unit that validates on its own and stays yours. It changes how you enter training, how you leave it and how you come back to it later. The professional-title catalogue is built entirely this way.

A unit that stands on its own

A block gathers the knowledge, the gestures and the decisions required by one whole activity of the job — not a textbook chapter. « Hazard identification and risk assessment » forms a block because a professional practises it as one piece: analysing a workstation, telling hazard from risk, rating criticality, feeding the risk register. The block is assessed on that complete activity, in a realistic situation, and its validation stands by itself.

  • One whole activity of the job, described by what it produces
  • Its own hour count, stated before you enrol
  • Assessment in situation, on a real piece of work
  • A validation that stays yours and can be presented on its own
  • A recommended order, and the freedom to compose your sequence

One professional title, opened block by block

Here is the real structure of one catalogue title. Each row is a possible entry point: you can start with the one matching what your job asks of you right now, then complete the others at your own pace.

Competence blockWhat it coversHours
Regulation and responsibilitiesEmployer obligations, the role of supervision, criminal liability, frameworks130 h
Hazard identification and risk assessmentWorkstation analysis, hazard versus risk, criticality, the risk register160 h
Prevention measures and work permitsCollective and personal protection, lockout, permits, co-activity160 h
Briefings and event reportingSafety talks, induction, near misses, root-cause analysis, action plans100 h
Professional conduct and employabilityCommunicating on an industrial site, professional writing, job search50 h

The scale of the arrangement

professional titles
72

Each validated separately.

competence blocks
360

That is 4975 credits on the catalogue scale.

training hours
49 750

The path of a block, from day one to validation

  1. 01

    You choose the block

    Every block states the activity it covers and its hour count. You take the one your job needs.

  2. 02

    You work on a real situation

    Exercises start from a field case: a workstation to analyse, a file to build, an incident to handle.

  3. 03

    You produce the expected deliverable

    The deliverable is the one the job uses: an action plan, an audit report, a reasoned scoring grid.

  4. 04

    The block is validated and stays yours

    The validation is recorded in your file. It can be shown to an employer on its own and completed later with the other blocks.

Questions about blocks

Can I validate a single block and stop there?

Yes, and that use is designed for. A validated block describes an activity you can carry out: it can be shown to an employer as it is, it belongs on a CV, and it stays available the day you decide to add the next ones.

In what order should I take the blocks?

The catalogue order is the one that asks the least effort: each block builds on what the previous one established. You may compose your own sequence to fit your job, and the teaching team frames that choice with you before enrolment.

How long does a block take?

Catalogue blocks range from 20 to 220 hours depending on the breadth of the activity they cover. The exact figure is on the title's page, before you take any step.

Do all the blocks together lead to the full title?

Yes. The blocks of one title make up its full standard: gathering all of them opens the award of the corresponding professional title, whatever the total length of your journey.

Explore next

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See the professional titles
Working in competence blocks — Resources | IHETC — IHETC