Katie Cockburn is the Professional Services Director, CIWM and Director of Qualifications and Standards, WAMITAB, with fifteen years of experience in the vocational and technical education space. Over ten of these were spent developing and improving qualification standards in the waste and resource management sector. She has seen the introduction of the first apprenticeships to the sector in 2011 and the evolution and growth of operator competence schemes. She is now keen to look forward to the future skills needs of our critical sector.