New SCC examinations from 4 September 2017

From old to new

The new SCC attainment and test targets were published on 31 May 2016. These specify the basic safety knowledge and skills to be possessed by candidates, as well as the manner in which they are tested to verify that the requirements have been met. In contrast to the previous attainment and test targets, almost all of which were focused on knowledge ('The candidate can state...'), the new attainment and test targets address both knowledge and the application of that knowledge ('The candidate can determine...'). The number of attainment and test targets has also been substantially reduced.

Since June of last year the SCC Examination Bank, which develops the B-SCC, SOS-SCC and SIS-SCT examinations, has been hard at work on modifying the examinations in line with the new attainment and test targets, testing the new questions in practice, and making any necessary refinements. The training institutions have also worked on the modification of their training. The SSVV attended two meetings with trainers to discuss the developments, and has also published an explanation of the new attainment and test targets that is intended for trainers, safety officers, support staff and other professionals. During the coming month all those involved will dot the last i's and cross the last t's, ready for the introduction of the new examinations on 4 September of this year.

What will change?

The most important changes are:

• Candidates are no longer tested solely on their factual knowledge, but are now also tested on their ability to apply this knowledge (by asking them what they would do in a specific work situation).
• Multiple-choice questions are now supplemented with other forms of questions, such as matrix questions, ranking questions, questions with multiple answers, and matching questions.
• Questions are no longer either right or wrong. Candidates can now also be awarded marks when they answer parts of questions correctly. They no longer pass their examination on the basis of the number of questions they answered correctly, but rather on the basis of their total marks.
• The examination questions contain more images.

What has remained the same?

Not everything has changed. The following have remained unchanged from the old examinations:

• The subjects that are addressed (Preparations for, discussions on and inspections of the work; Performance of work; Control of specific hazards, and Control of incidents and emergencies).
• The language level of the texts.
• The languages in which candidates can sit an examination (B-SCC: Dutch, Arabic, Bulgarian, German, English, French, Hungarian, Italians, Croatian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Spanish, Russian and Turkish – some examination centres offer, in consultation, additional languages; SOS-SCC: Dutch, English, German and French; SIS-SCT: Dutch and English).

More information

More information about the new examinations is available from the SCC Examination Bank (+31 33 489 20 73, info@vcainfra.nl). More information about the new attainment and test targets is available from VCA Infra, at the aforementioned telephone number and email address.