Plant Training for Businesses & Employers

Need Several Plant Operators Trained?

If you are responsible for a workforce, it is worth giving us the complete requirement rather than booking employees individually without discussing the bigger picture.

For example, you might have:

• 2 experienced 360 excavator operators
• 3 dumper operators requiring assessment
• 1 new telehandler operator
• 4 employees requiring CAT & Genny training
• 2 trained operators needing NVQs
• Existing employees requiring refresher training

Tell us about all of them.

We can then look at the experience levels, categories, site location and machinery available and discuss the most practical way to organise the training.

This is particularly useful for:

site managers, contracts managers, training managers, health and safety managers, operations managers, HR departments and company directors who are responsible for keeping workforce training and competence up to date.

Plant Operations NVQs for Experienced Employees

Training the operator is only part of the journey for some construction businesses.

Experienced employees following the relevant card scheme may also require an occupational NVQ to demonstrate workplace competence and progress towards the applicable Blue Competent Operator Card.

Vally Plant Training provides Plant Operations NVQ assessments for experienced operators across relevant categories.

Unlike a traditional classroom course, an NVQ assesses what an experienced employee can demonstrate in the workplace.

Evidence can include practical observation, professional discussion, workplace evidence and knowledge assessment.

This can make workplace assessment particularly useful for employers with several experienced plant operators.

Instead of unnecessarily taking an experienced operator away from their normal occupation to teach them work they already perform, the NVQ is built around demonstrating occupational competence.

Relevant categories include excavators, telehandlers, dumpers, ride-on rollers and other plant occupations.

Red Card to Blue Card Progression for Your Workforce

If you employ operators holding relevant trained operator cards, it is worth keeping an eye on their progression requirements rather than waiting until cards approach expiry.

The general progression route for applicable construction plant categories can involve:

Operator Training → Assessment → Trained Operator Card → Workplace Experience → Relevant NVQ → Competent Operator Card

Vally Plant Training can provide both the operator training and workplace NVQ assessment elements for relevant categories.

This gives employers a straightforward point of contact when developing employees from initial training through to occupational competence.

CITB Funding for Employer Plant Training

Vally Plant Training is a CITB Training Provider Network Member.

Eligible CITB-registered employers may be able to access funding towards qualifying training and qualifications, subject to the current CITB scheme, course eligibility and employer requirements.

Funding should never be assumed automatically.

The amount available and the rules that apply can depend on the training or qualification being completed and the employer’s eligibility.

If your business is CITB registered, tell us when requesting your quotation so the training requirement can be considered alongside the current funding arrangements.

Visit our CITB Funding information for further details.

What Do You Need for Plant Training at Your Site?

On-site training needs to take place in a suitable environment.

Before confirming workplace delivery, we will need to establish that the necessary machinery, documents and facilities are available.

Depending on the course, this can include:

Suitable Machine

The machine must be appropriate for the category being trained or assessed, safe to operate and available for the required course duration.

Operator’s Manual

The manufacturer’s operator manual must be available for machinery being used during on-site training.

Inspection and Examination Documentation

Relevant inspection records and, where applicable, current thorough examination documentation should be available.

Suitable Practical Area

There must be enough space to complete the required exercises safely without unnecessary interference from normal workplace operations.

Loads, Materials or Excavation Area

Some courses require additional facilities.

Telehandler training may require suitable loads and stacking areas.

Dumper training needs an appropriate loading, travelling and tipping area.

Excavator training requires a suitable area for the practical excavation exercises.

Lifting Documentation and Equipment

Where the training involves lifting operations, suitable lifting accessories, examination documentation, lift planning information and other relevant equipment may be required.

Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work

Relevant workplace arrangements need to be in place.

Candidate Identification

Candidates should have suitable photo identification and any previous cards or certificates relevant to the training route.

PPE

Candidates need appropriate PPE including safety footwear, high-visibility clothing, hard hat and other PPE required by the course or workplace.

Before arranging a course at your premises, read our complete Customer On-Site Plant Training Requirements.

What If We Don’t Have the Right Machine or Training Area?

On-site training is not always the best option.

Your business may not have enough space to complete the practical exercises safely.

The machine might be committed to production.

You may have several individual employees who require training but no suitable equipment available.

For selected categories, employees can instead attend our dedicated training centre at:

Vally Plant Training
Newton Farm Business Park
Ashchurch
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire
GL20 7BE

Our centre is conveniently located close to M5 Junction 9, providing straightforward access from Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, the West Midlands, Bristol, Wiltshire and surrounding areas.

Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station is approximately a five-minute walk from the training centre, giving employees another travel option.

Tell us what training you require and we can discuss whether on-site or centre-based delivery is more suitable.

Plant Training and Employer Responsibilities

Operator training forms part of a much wider responsibility for safe plant operation.

Employers need to consider the machinery being used, the people operating it and the environment in which the work takes place.

The Health and Safety Executive explains that under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, people using work equipment should receive adequate training, including the methods of using the equipment, the risks involved and the precautions that need to be taken.

Training should therefore sit alongside appropriate:

• Risk assessment
• Safe systems of work
• Machine selection
• Inspection and maintenance
• Defect reporting
• Operator supervision
• Site rules
• Plant and pedestrian segregation
• Ground-condition assessment
• Manufacturer instructions
• Lifting arrangements where applicable

A plant operator card does not remove these employer responsibilities.

The objective is not simply to obtain another certificate for the training file.

It is to make sure the employee has received training appropriate to the machine and work they are expected to undertake.

For official guidance, employers can refer to the Health and Safety Executive’s work equipment training and competence guidance.

Training Employees Who Operate More Than One Machine

It is common for experienced plant operators to use several machine types.

A groundworker might operate an excavator and dumper.

An experienced material-handling operator might use both a telehandler and counterbalance forklift.

An excavator operator may also use the machine for lifting operations.

But competence on one category should not simply be assumed to prove competence on another.

Each machine has different controls, stability characteristics, limitations, inspection requirements and operating hazards.

Tell us the actual machinery your employees operate rather than simply asking for a generic plant ticket.

That allows training to be matched to the work.

Excavation, Underground Services and Workforce Training

For companies involved in groundworks, utilities, drainage, highways and civil engineering, operator competence extends beyond simply moving the machine.

Excavation work can involve underground electricity cables, gas pipes, telecommunications, water services and other buried infrastructure.

Employees involved in locating underground services can undertake our CAT & Genny Training, while those operating excavators can complete the appropriate 360 Excavator Training.

Where plant movements need to be controlled around workers, vehicles and restricted areas, Plant Banksman Training may also form part of the workforce training requirement.

This is why it can make sense to discuss the whole job, rather than looking at one plant ticket in isolation.

Lifting Operations Training for Businesses

Many companies using plant also carry out lifting operations.

Your workforce may include machine operators, Slinger Signallers, Lift Supervisors and Appointed Persons with different responsibilities.

Vally Plant Training provides training across lifting-related roles including Slinger Signaller Training, Lift Supervisor Training and Excavator as a Crane Training.

Where an excavator or telehandler is used for suspended-load operations, employers should not automatically assume that standard machine operator training covers every lifting activity.

Tell us what your operators actually do with the machine so we can discuss the relevant training requirement.