In yet another strand of their ongoing growth programme, global leader in online vehicle remarketing and recycling, Copart UK, have announced a new Operation Centre in St Helens, Merseyside.

Copart’s purchase of this 16-acre site (formerly leased by Cazoo), strategically placed between Manchester and Liverpool, will increase their Northwest capacity by 50%.

This news comes just after two other brand-new Copart Operation Centres opened their doors in Corby, Northamptonshire, and East Kilbride, Scotland, and in addition to the company announcing several large expansions to existing sites.

Jane Pocock, CEO of Copart UK and Ireland, said: 

“We’re very excited to be making this announcement as we continue to move forward on our ‘Land and Expand’ strategy. 

“The investment into this additional capacity demonstrates our continued commitment to our customers by enabling growth, EV handling, and increased volumes due to the expected forecast of further extreme weather events.”

This means that over and above the potential to borrow CoTC training manuals on a free of charge basis we now have a training company on board should members feel the need for face to face training and a considerable discount of circa 15% will apply to all members. 

We have already had one  member company put a candidate through the new system with excellent results, a pass first time on the day of training. 

Please see below for  the feedback from this member.

Just thought I would give you an update on the new CIWM Continuing Competence Test and my experience of using QSP Training Ltd.

Initially I booked up for January 14th for the refresher and test, then I started to feel uneasy thinking about things, what if it did not come up to expectations.

Checking the QSP website I struggled with the concept of how 3 hours intense re-training going over the generic questions followed by a test, would be successful. If I failed what would be my next plan as my certificate expires on 18th February, would I have to privately carry out Studying and pray I could get a fresh booking with “CIWM /Pearson VUE” would any slots be available locally mindful that I re-call a lot of waste industry members CCC tests expire around that time.

So, I spoke to Samantha at QSP, she was extremely courteous and understanding and brought my day forward to yesterday 14th December.

QSP Training, only currently carry out re-training on the 3 Generic modules, not ELV or Metal Recycling.

I have the set of five of latest March 2023 CIWM Revision Guide and Workbook, on initially reading these there is many changes to the previous books, I realised I had to personally in my spare time get to grips with the ELV and Metal Recycling, so I set aside to make my own notes on each of these and condense the content and attempt to make it more user friendly, at the same time incorporating the SMD ACT 2013 and Depolluting End-of-Life Vehicles March 2011 Defra booklet. Also, to assist my 3 employees before they also took the test in a few weeks’ time.

 I allowed a week on each of these two modules. I studied my own notes on last weekend and reserved Monday to Wednesday to cover just studying an evening each of the Generic.

14th December 2023, Redditch – Crunch Day.

I arrived early as not sure of the traffic conditions and did a bit of last-minute revision in the car on “List of waste codes” as not sure if these would be in the test as recall they were previously.

I arrived at the QSP offices about 09.35 as not sure what to expect, still apprehensive.  I was blown over, all the girls booking us in were absolutely lovely, friendly, helpful without exception, already my nerves started to settle down they seemed to know all of us by Christian name and very, very welcoming and also knowledgeable.

10.00 the Refresher training started John Lilley went through each of the 3 generic books content via a large screen in association with a note book with pre-printed headers covering each main topic, his industry and question knowledge was amazing, we had a break of 10.00 minutes midway.

At the end, 13.00 ish, John produced a large questionnaire sheet with sample test questions, which we then went through to check the knowledge we had just been briefed on. 

After a short break the 12 trainees were called into the Pearson VUE test room in groups as others finished. 

We were allowed an hour for the test, which I took advantage of to double check some answers. 

On leaving the room, after the test Samantha presented me with the results – I passed, which surprised me as many questions were quite ambiguous. I was happy.

My thoughts are after my re-train and test.

I would have no qualms recommending QSP Training to any BVSF member, I found them courteous, very caring and very professional they came over to me as a very happy family, which I complemented them on. They also saved me a lot of my spare time, potentially a couple of weeks.

Should you wish to learn more about this opportunity please feel free to email in the usual way.

Silverlake Automotive Recycling [Silverlake] is supporting suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club through its charity scheme UDonateacar.com.  As well as raising much needed funds, Silverlake invited the charity to provide presentations to all staff at its Shedfield site in the run up to Christmas and New Year; a time which can be a stressful for many.  Recognising the invaluable service Andy’s Man Club provides to the local community, Silverlake treated members of the charity team from the Eastleigh and Southampton branches to hospitality and football, on 23rd December 2023, when Eastleigh Football Club played Dorking Wanderers, winning 2-1 at home in the Eastleigh F.C Silverlake Stadium.  A tour of the company’s automotive recycling site before lunch and the match added further interest to the day.

Andy’s Man Club want to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.  They offer free peer-to-peer groups at 150+ locations across the UK, every Monday [except Bank Holidays] at 7-9pm.  The groups give men 18+ the chance to come together in a safe and open environment to talk about any issues they are facing, or have faced, support each other and lighten the load.  Demand is high with over 3,700 men attending regularly.  The charity also delivers talks to organisations to raise awareness of men’s mental health and how to access various support available. 

100% of funds raised by Silverlake’s charity scheme UDonateacar.com go to Global’s Make Some Noise, which provides grants to small charities doing vital work in local communities across the UK. Andy’s Man Club received their grant in 2023. Customers selling their car to Silverlake can donate from as little as £5 of the sale value to UDonateacar.com.  Guaranteeing best price, Silverlake will also collect the car for free and handle all the necessary DVLA paperwork.  

Allen Prebble, managing director at Silverlake Automotive Recycling said: “Men experience disproportionately high-rates of suicide, with death by suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK*.  Mental illness affects people of every gender but poor mental health outcomes for men are often driven by ‘toxic masculinity’ where men are portrayed or expected to be strong and silent.  For many men, admitting to a mental health challenge feels like showing weakness and they fear being judged by their friends, family and employers.  Andy’s Man Club encourages men to talk and provides a vital service to support men’s mental health.  Staff feedback from the presentations they gave at Silverlake was hugely positive.  We are proud to be able to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club through our UDonateacar.com scheme and it was a real pleasure to have them as our guests at Eastleigh Football Club.” 

Darren Edwards, Project Development Champion at Andy’s Man Club said: “The grant we received from Global’s Make Some Noise, supported by Silverlake’s UDonateacar.com fund raising, helps us to keep our doors open and provide a safe space for men to come and talk and we are incredibly grateful.  It was great for our Eastleigh and Southampton teams to have a day out as guests of Silverlake and very much appreciated – the site tour was a real eye opener into automotive recycling.  I also welcomed the opportunity to run three presentations for Silverlake’s staff to ensure everyone heard our message that ‘It’s okay to talk’. 

QSP Training Ltd is one of the largest Centres registered to CIWM/WAMITAB with over 35 assessors spread between Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.  We have a well proven record of success, thanks in part, to a network of over 35 experienced assessors and verifiers backing up its capability of offering a range of Nationally and Internationally recognised qualifications. There is also an experienced team of staff on hand to assist with any training requirements, information, applications, paperwork, bookings and certification. 

We are also the only Centre able to offer Continuing Competence tests for all CIWM/WAMITAB waste management awards at our Pearson VUE centre. Our half day refresher course is a great way to brush up on your skills and knowledge and be prepared for the examination which can be booked for the same day.

The refresher course is on for approx 3.5 Hours and covers the below areas which comes up in the examination. 

Generic Section (Legislation, Health and Safety & Environmental Protection)

Following your refresher course you are able to take your test at QSP. As QSP are the only CIWM (WAMITAB) approved centre offering the Refresher Course and CIWM (WAMITAB) Competency Testing on the Same Day

If you are interested in coming to QSP to do your Refresher and Same day test we are offering a discount Please use code: BVSF1123. 

Please give us a call on 0121 565 2277.