CPD & Training

Continuing professional development (CPD) aims to facilitate your career development through structuring your needs and requirements and by providing incentives to continue learning and improving your professional skills.

IAQM operates a CPD process to allow members to develop as air quality professionals. All members are required to keep this up to date. A random selection of 5% of the membership is audited each year. The guidance document explains the requirements and what counts as CPD.

	CPD self-evaluation form
	CPD guidance

In addition to IAQM requirements, the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) operates a mandatory CPD scheme for all members.

IAQM undertakes accreditation of short courses and conferences.  The criteria for IAQM accreditation is detailed in the document below.

Accreditation criteria

A part-time or full-time postgraduate course at Birmingham University, UK. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of air pollution, its management and control.  The course describes the underpinning basic science of the atmosphere, both its physics and its chemistry, needed to understand air pollution and its dispersal.  It explains the causes and the effects/impacts of air pollution, its management from local to international levels, and the engineering controls used to reduce emissions from industry and transport.  Research methods are also introduced and there is the opportunity to go into greater depth in a particular chosen area through a literature review and a research project.

Further course information can be obtained by contacting:

• Mrs Gill Burrows, Course Administrator
• Tel: (+44) 121 414 2628
• G.Burrows@bham.ac.uk

• Dr Jacob Baker, Admissions Tutor and Course Leader
• Tel: (+44) 121 414 2680. 
• J.Baker@bham.ac.uk

Or visit the website here.

With the recent multitude of changes to the LAQM process and the increasing predominance of climate change on the political agenda, now is the time for employers and staff to ensure that they are in command of all the facts.

The University of the West of England’s Air Quality Management Resource Centre (AQMRC) have developed a range of training and development opportunities to build skills and understanding in the fields of air quality and carbon management.  Whether you are a recent graduate or needing to update your skills in an existing role, this training will give you the opportunity to focus your development in a way that is specific to your needs and requirements.

Supported by the Institute of Air Quality Management and the Institution of Environmental Science, these training opportunities are available from 2010 for CPD.  A flexible package of CPD is available for delivery at your location or at UWE.  For more information about the training opportunities and to discuss your specific needs, please contact Jo Barnes and visit the AQMRC website.

The ‘Essentials of Air Quality Management (AQM)’ is an IAQM accredited foundation course that enables Environmental Protection officers to demonstrate that they have the knowledge needed to implement the requirements Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) as required by the Environment Act 1995 and the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002.

The syllabus is delivered in five seminars:
(1) The technical and legal context of LAQM
(2) Practical aspects associated with monitoring and compliance
(3) Review and assessment
(4) Action Planning
(5) Managing the LAQM process.

Each seminar stands alone but is intended as a part of a programme of study leading to a certificate of proficiency in LAQM. Those achieving the certificate will have demonstrated that they have the knowledge and understanding needed to carry out the functions required of a local authority. This knowledge, when coupled with practical experience gained ‘on the job’ as part of an individual’s continuing professional development plan, will provide them with the necessary confidence to operate effectively, and their managers with evidence of an individual's ability to implement LAQM requirements.

The course is, therefore, a vehicle for personal development and a means by which LAs may strengthen their infrastructure for delivering LAQM. Those taking the course should view it as a partnership between themselves and their sponsoring organisations (usually the Authority they work for); consequently participants are required to obtain the active support of their management before they can register. More details can be found here

Essentials of PPC
EMAQ+ provides training and technical guidance for Local Authority Officers who have regulatory powers and responsibilities under the LA-IPPC and LA-PPC pollution control regimes. The range of materials offered caters for operational level staff that are new to the area and for more experienced officers who wish to update and extend their knowledge of the subject.

At entry level - the IAQM accredited Essentials of PPC Course provides a vehicle for personal development and allows a Local Authority to demonstrate how they have invested in strengthening their infrastructure for developing PPC; certificated individuals and their sponsoring authority are listed on the public pages of the EMAQ website. The Advanced training seminars are geared to staff that are currently involved in pollution control and who have attended the Essentials of PPC Course or have an equivalent knowledge and experience.

By attending seminars LA professionals can build their confidence in their ability to implement the PPC Regulations, assist the planning process, work with plant operators and monitoring consultants etc. The training, in a formal classroom environment, provides an overview of the legal, scientific, and technical aspects of industrial emission regulation; it provides opportunities to work with expert trainers on realistic practical exercises, ask questions, and network with colleagues undertaking similar work in other local authorities. The EMAQ+ web based technical guidance, based on seminar material, is a readily accessible permanent resource that explains and illustrates the more important aspects of industrial pollution regulation.More details here.

Air Pollution
This five-day IAQM accredited course introduces the fundamentals of air pollution, with a consideration of the background and historical perspective, and a commentary on current air quality policies and standards. The course also considers the health impacts of air pollution.

The course discusses the major approaches for air pollution modelling, and demonstrates the features and use of the most widely used commercial and freely available air quality models. Introductions to the various air pollution modelling approaches are followed by hands-on sessions covering the use of most widely used commercial air quality models, including ADMS, Airviro and a host of USEPA models. The methods and techniques of handling and disseminating the outputs of air pollution models will be demonstrated in practice sessions.

Course fees are £900. More details can be found here.

Air Quality & Health
This one-day course is based on the internationally recognised research that Margaret Bell, Anil Namdeo and their team are involved in. Combined with their extensive experience of working with Local Authorities and other partners, the course is thus informed by both the latest research and by experience of practical implementation.

Course fees are £185. More details can be found here.