Safepass question

2011

Sorry, I forgot about the OP. Although Safepass is a requirement to be on site an employer should pay for this.

In my opinion your son's focus should be on ensuring that he gets the best type of apprenticeship. This in my opinion would be in the industrial sector and better still an E & I apprenticeship. This will make your son more employable and dramatically increase his earning potential. The work is also far more interesting and this can open the door into many other areas.

Speaking as someone that spent 15 years working as a qualified electrician, I can say from direct experience that the career of an electrician working "on the tools" is relatively short. An exit plan is required before the age of 40. It is just to physically challenging.

Dakotabigone

They can’t do a specialised course to cover different trades. Maybe suggest to your employer your concerns of health and safety awarnesss or lack of it in your job.

Dr.Sanchez

2011 wrote: »

An exit plan is required before the age of 40. It is just to physically challenging.

Maybe teaching Safepass courses?

2011

Dakotabigone wrote: »

They can’t do a specialised course to cover different trades.

I don't except that.

I am an engineer, I don't work on my tools. I don't accept that there is any point in running a Safepass course for 20 design engineers and teaching us how to shore up an excavation or build scaffolding. However I do feel that a superior course could have been delivered with our graduates in mind who have never set foot on a site.

Maybe suggest to your employer your concerns of health and safety awarnesss or lack of it in your job.

My employer has sufficient experience with this, so he shares my view too. That is just one reason that we have our own safety inductions. I'm sorry, but it is a scam, that is a fact.

Dr.Sanchez

I currently work as a health and safety advisor in the construction industry. Prior to this, I worked as a health and safety trainer within the oil and gas industry delivering safety-related courses onboard oil platforms all over the world.

The Safepass course is pretty weak in terms of content, lesson planning, and assessment. It should really be a two-day course focusing on the fundamentals of health and safety and not site specifics like shoring trenches which doesn't apply to everyone. I've only attended it once as I have lived abroad for many years, and I can honestly say it was an awful experience.

These types of short courses largely depend on the trainer to make it interesting and interactive but from what I've seen in Ireland - all you need is a train-the-trainer qualification to deliver them whereas in the UK you need an actual teaching qualification. Poor trainer quality largely affects the learning experience.

Andrew00

Lads this is off topic but ye are the right people to ask

Any thoughts on this course http://kerryetbtrainingcentre.ie/course/construction-ground-work-skills/

I’m from Galway and thinking of doing this 22 week course in Kerry. Any thoughts on it would be great

2011

Andrew00 wrote: »

Lads this is off topic but ye are the right people to ask

Any thoughts on this course http://kerryetbtrainingcentre.ie/course/construction-ground-work-skills/

I’m from Galway and thinking of doing this 22 week course in Kerry. Any thoughts on it would be great

I'm not going to say that this course is not worthwhile, but I don't think that it would be of any advantage to someone that wants to be an electrician.

There are plenty of good electrical apprenticeships on offer, employers are struggling to get good candidates.

Dr.Sanchez

Andrew00 wrote: »

Lads this is off topic but ye are the right people to ask

Any thoughts on this course http://kerryetbtrainingcentre.ie/course/construction-ground-work-skills/

I’m from Galway and thinking of doing this 22 week course in Kerry. Any thoughts on it would be great

Can't comment on that one but I know they do a really good wind turbine maintenance technician traineeship course if you have any interest in that? The wind industry will be busy for the foreseeable future.

Dakotabigone

Dr.Sanchez wrote: »

Can't comment on that one but I know they do a really good wind turbine maintenance technician traineeship course if you have any interest in that? The wind industry will be busy for the foreseeable future.

How recognised is that course.

2011

Dakotabigone wrote: »

How recognised is that course.

You will generally find that as part of a course like this trainees serve their time as electricians.

Dr.Sanchez

Dakotabigone wrote: »

How recognised is that course.

It's a City & Guilds Diploma, so fairly recognisable. It would be in line with the Maersk Level 2 Diploma which a lot of people do in the UK.

Additional courses might have to be done depending on what type of turbine you're working on, Siemens, Vestas, etc. Some companies might ask for advanced rescue or advanced first aid type training.

brightspark

Dr.Sanchez wrote: »

I currently work as a health and safety advisor in the construction industry. Prior to this, I worked as a health and safety trainer within the oil and gas industry delivering safety-related courses onboard oil platforms all over the world.

The Safepass course is pretty weak in terms of content, lesson planning, and assessment. It should really be a two-day course focusing on the fundamentals of health and safety and not site specifics like shoring trenches which doesn't apply to everyone. I've only attended it once as I have lived abroad for many years, and I can honestly say it was an awful experience.

These types of short courses largely depend on the trainer to make it interesting and interactive but from what I've seen in Ireland - all you need is a train-the-trainer qualification to deliver them whereas in the UK you need an actual teaching qualification. Poor trainer quality largely affects the learning experience.

Safepass was originally supposed to be paid by employers (as should all safety training) now it is a condition of applying for the job!

It is also over used, many factories insist that all contractors coming onto their site have "Safepass" even though the work they do is not construction related.

Would you also agree that there should be no such thing as a "manual handling" course that is not job specific? i.e. the training needs to be relevant to the particular work involved.

Most "manual handling" courses I have done involved learning about the physics of lifting, the damage that can occur and moving what is usually an empty box.

Nothing about the correct way to carry a ladder, toolbox, lift a motor from within a machine etc.

Andrew00

2011 wrote: »

I'm not going to say that this course is not worthwhile, but I don't think that it would be of any advantage to someone that wants to be an electrician.

There are plenty of good electrical apprenticeships on offer, employers are struggling to get good candidates.

I want to become a groundworker not electrian so ur right probably

Dr.Sanchez

brightspark wrote: »

It is also over used, many factories insist that all contractors coming onto their site have "Safepass" even though the work they do is not construction related.

Yeah, this is a bit silly. The factory should have its own safety induction process in place for anyone who visits. The factory needs to make visitors aware of any hazards on site. The reality is, they are just using safepass as the ass-covering exercise that it is!

brightspark wrote: »

Would you also agree that there should be no such thing as a "manual handling" course that is not job specific? i.e. the training needs to be relevant to the particular work involved.

Most "manual handling" courses I have done involved learning about the physics of lifting, the damage that can occur and moving what is usually an empty box.

This one is a bit tricky. I think knowing the physics and the damage that can occur with careless lifting is important - but it is a relatively dry subject with no way to make it interesting as an instructor. The standard "off the shelf" manual handling course is very broad and tries to cover everyone from working in an office to working on a building site.

Some industries/companies do make them specific to the workplace. I used to teach a manual handling course for a wind turbine company that involved lifting and carrying a dummy on a stretcher - as a team lift.

brightspark

From the HSA guidelines it's my opinion that a generic manual handling course is insufficient

https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Workplace_Health/Manual_Handling_Display_Screen_Equipment/FAQs/Manual%20Handling%20FAQs/Manual_Handling.html

How often do employees need refresher training?

Refresher training will be at intervals not more than every three years and when there is any major change in the work involved or equipment used or when an employee is transferred to another activity requiring different loads to be handled.



Are there minimum requirements for the duration of manual handling training courses for employees?

The Health and Safety Authority do not specify time duration for manual training courses. The duration of the training course should be tailored to the number and complexity of the handling procedures being taught. The employers must satisfy themselves that the instructor who delivers the course covers the relevant topics comprehensively.

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But companies are unfortunately usually content with the "box ticking" that a generic course provides.