Philip Brain Associates were established in 1994 and have been at the forefront of promoting competence-based assessment within the quarrying industry since then. PBA have been instrumental in implementing & quality assuring large multi-site assessment schemes for S/NVQs in Plant Operations & Process Operations at level 2 for many of the UK quarry operators.

PBA are the most established assessment provider for SHE management S/NVQs in the UK mineral processing industries. Our dedicated network of assessors have a wealth of practical experience in quarry management & mineral operations both in the UK and abroad. PBA were the consultants commissioned by the Institute of Quarrying to write the standards used as the basis for these qualifications. As such we are committed to consistently delivering S/NVQs of the highest quality to our clients

Because of our specialised knowledge & expertise within this unique & changing industry we are an ideal choice of assessment provider for your company - whether you wish to run your own in-house NVQ system or prefer to use an external provider.

Philip Brain Associates are:

Philip Brain I Eng, FMES, FIMMM, FIQ

Philip has had a successful and varied career spanning almost 40 years. Having managed quarries in the UK and being appointed as Chief Technical Officer of the Nigerian Mining Corporation, Philip moved into building materials working for both large international companies and specialist niche suppliers. Prior to forming PBA, Philip was Production Director of a building materials PLC.

Gavin Brain BA(Hons), MIQ, MIVA

Gavin joined PBA in 1998, qualifying as an assessor and internal verifier shortly afterwards. Gavin specialises in the mentoring and training of NVQ assessors and developing effective, rigorous assessment systems. In additional Gavin works as an External Verifier for a number of awarding bodies and is Lead EV for the Plant Ops NVQ at Lantra Awards.

Karen Brain