60 second interview –
Peter Lomas
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, IRCA scheme manager, joined IRCA after more than 20 years working in a variety of roles in the UK and overseas. An IRCA certificated QMS lead auditor, Peter has experience running LRQA’s IRCA-approved training business and supporting the organization as a member of the IRCA Certification Committee. He talks about the challenges of running IRCA-approved training courses. |
Can you tell us about your background in the global accredited certification industry and auditor training and development?
Before joining IRCA I enjoyed a very fulfilling career with LRQA, one of the UK’s leading certification bodies. I was fortunate to have a number of positions, technical and managerial, both here in the UK and overseas. An important part of my role was developing assessment methodology and auditor competence. I also ran a successful training business that was IRCA-approved. More recently, I’ve been working as a training and audit specialist.
Can you tell us more about your experience running an IRCA-approved training organization?
Today’s challenges for training organizations are both similar and different to those I faced. We knew there was much more to developing a successful training business than getting an enthusiastic auditor to develop some slides and deliver lectures, no matter how entertaining. We invested for the long term and every trainer I engaged had a passion for learning and went on to gain a professional qualification in training and development. Technical excellence in a tutor is important but for the students it’s a base-line expectation. The important thing for them is that training is engaging, practical and, dare I say it, fun. My approach was to put trainer skills at the forefront of everything we did and that’s what gave us our competitive advantage.
For me, a successful training business is one that makes a positive contribution to the business, which may be measured as revenue, profit or another contribution. Today, organizations delivering IRCA-certificated courses are operating in a market where there is economic stagnation, the number of auditable standards and schemes has expanded significantly, the cost of design and delivery is going up and prices are being challenged. IRCA has a part to play in looking for new ways of giving customers what they want and at the same time enabling IRCA training organizations to make a reasonable profit.
What is most important for you to tackle in your new role as IRCA scheme manager?
In the short term, the most important thing for me is making sure we have a solid foundation from which to refine and launch our future strategy.
How do you think IRCA will develop its brand globally?
IRCA has an enviable reputation as the original and leading auditor registration body. We are recognized as an organization that is independent, willing to set and maintain high standards and promote new ideas. To maintain and enhance the IRCA brand I want to see us take a leading role in developing auditor competence and auditor training. In my experience, organizations have one management system with different facets looking after different risk areas. An organization might look at different risk areas in order to assess how well protected they are, eg health and safety.
I see a need for professional grade auditors who have better knowledge and understanding of how organizations and businesses work; how they identify and manage risk. I think in coming years with the development of more and more management system standards, we will see the emergence of the professional grade auditor who can take a more rounded view of the organization’s management system, looking at how effective the different facets are in managing the external and internal issues that are relevant to the organization's purpose and which affect its ability to achieve its strategic direction. I think also that along with this we may see a few more sector specific schemes developing, such as the aerospace auditor scheme, where there is an essential need for sector specialist auditors who have current and in-depth knowledge of the sector.
Where do you see IRCA in five years’ time?
It’s important to me that IRCA auditor registration, training organization approval and course certification has real credibility and value in the market. Organizations and individuals who voluntarily put themselves through rigorous and independent assessment and demonstrate they are among the best, should get the recognition they deserve, be that through market advantage or professional status.
