SERC and SIAS Collaboration Leads to New Healthcare Technician Courses

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) have begun working with Science Industry Assessment Service (SIAS), to develop new healthcare engineering specialist technician (HEST) courses, in partnership with Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. 

SIAS is the leading Awarding Organisation for the technical science, engineering, manufacturing and low-carbon sectors regulated in England by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and in Northern Ireland by the Council for Curriculum, Examination and Assessment Regulation (CCEA).  SERC is working with the expertise at SIAS, to create HEST courses and qualifications aimed at staff in public and private healthcare organisations, who service and maintain medical machinery and equipment within clinical environments. 

The courses will be designed to give the learner a fundamental understanding of the role of a healthcare technician and allow them to demonstrate competence in engineering maintenance operations when working within the wider healthcare setting. The courses will also provide sufficient knowledge to enable a learner to operate within an estates team at a basic level and will teach them the relevant skills required to undertake healthcare estates activities. The first of these courses, the SIAS Level 2 Certificate in the Fundamentals of Healthcare Estates, will launch in January 2025. 

On the Level 2 Certificate in the Fundamentals of Healthcare Estates qualification, SERC Lead Business Manager Stephen McGreevy comments, “The Level 2 HEST course is designed to address a knowledge and skills gap found within the Healthcare Trusts, where long standing modes of training and skills delivered are no longer meeting the modern needs and operations of their estates. Working closely with Belfast Healthcare Trust and SIAS, we have designed a suite of courses for the modern HEST operative to be career ready.” 

SIAS Managing Director Steve Smith comments, “As Managing Director of SIAS, I am delighted to announce our strategic partnership with South Eastern Regional College (SERC) in Northern Ireland. This exciting collaboration marks a significant step forward in SIAS’s wider, cast-iron commitment, to supporting the Northern Ireland skills agenda working in partnership across industry. 

“This specific project, in conjunction with SERC and the Belfast NHS Trust, will focus on building a suite of Level 2 and Level 3 Qualifications aimed at developing the key critical skills required for the management and engineering maintenance of facilities and estates across both public and private healthcare settings in Northern Ireland. Together, we are committed to offering regulated, fit for purpose qualifications that will empower professionals across the healthcare industries to meet evolving challenges, and deliver excellence to the communities they serve. 

"By working closely with SERC and the NHS in Northern Ireland, we aim to empower new and existing healthcare estates and facilities teams across the country to effectively service what is an increasingly important area, ensuring staff are equipped to support operational objectives. This partnership underscores SIAS's ongoing commitment to fostering innovation and excellence, and we very much look forward to roll-out from January 2025.” 

Following the launch of the Level 2 course in January 2025, a Level 3 Diploma and Extended Diploma will launch in September 2025. For more information on the courses, please contact kdonnelly@serc.ac.uk.