Scaffolding contractors team up to train staff
LOCAL scaffolding contractors have joined forces to get training for their staff to help raise health and safety standards.
At present scaffolders do not receive any support from the States or the College of FE when it comes to training staff, so local firms, including Impact, Access and Prime, clubbed together to bring UK-based industry-leading training company Safety & Access to the island to train both new and more experienced scaffolders.
‘It’s a legal requirement to have training for all scaffolders,’ said Impact Scaffolding owner Rick Bourgaize.
‘Previously we had a guy from the UK come over, but five years ago he unfortunately got cancer and had to give up because of sickness and people reached out but no one took it over.
‘People now haven’t been able to retrain and new scaffolders haven’t been able to train. It’s not for want of trying, we reached out to colleges but no one came forward.
‘So we spoke to Safety & Access, but there is a large cost involved, so we joined together to spread the cost.’
The course has been held on the outer areas of the Track at Victoria Avenue.
‘We are proud sponsors of Belgrave Wanderers and they have kindly supplied us with this venue,' Mr Bourgaize said.
‘We are using the outside ground to erect scaffolding to be assessed and trained on, we also have an assessment on theory for regulations which is being done in the clubhouse.
‘Sourcing the venue was proving difficult and it was a big relief when Belgrave Wanderers offered their ground.’
Prime Scaffolding’s Frank Le Tissier said that the course gave trainee scaffolders a tangible target for progress.
‘They will have something to work towards, and it is a world-recognised qualification with the CISRS,’ he said.
‘If people wanted to move elsewhere and work they could, as this is accepted around the world.’
Each course is a week long, with an assessment on the first day to see what the scaffolders can do already, before they spend the week completing designs given to them by their assessor and undertake a written exam.
As well as the technical side of the training, there is also a focus on health and safety.
‘That’s the biggest part of it, it helps raise standards in the industry,’ said Mr Bourgaize.
‘The Health and Safety inspectorate have been down and they were really pleased to see it, and want everybody to be signed up to it.
‘We are technically the most dangerous trade and have been left in limbo without support, really.’
Mr Bourgaize said that any other scaffolding firms that are not already involved in the training project could contact him at rick@impactscaffolding.gg.
