Customer Statement about Training and Assessments During Covid-19 Lockdown 2021
Once again, we are in a position where we need to make difficult decisions about which courses to postpone, and to make special provision to run training and assessments for essential workers.
Our view is that due to the alarming escalation in the spread of the virus, and the Prime Minister’s latest announcement, that we should postpone all basic training for now, other than essential assessments and some refresher training.
Which Training & Assessments will be available during Lockdown, and which will be postponed?
Certificate of Competence/ Licence to Practice Assessments:
We will continue to provide these assessments for experienced operatives only, who require them for work, especially those working in utilities and other critical national infrastructure sectors.
These assessments may include (but are not limited to):
NPTC assessments for chainsaw, arboriculture, utility arb and other equipment and machinery, Lantra Awards technical assessments for chainsaws and other equipment and machinery, IPAF assessments for MEWP, ROLO H&S course for CSCS, LISS or FISS card.
We will need some form of written evidence (such as email) to demonstrate certification is required for work.
Basic Training (practical skills):
We will postpone all basic/ novice training. This will be reviewed after half term week, which is February 15th -19th, reflecting the Government’s current position on school re-opening.
Refresher Training:
We will assess each case on its merits, to decide whether refresher training and assessment can be justified based on the individual’s work situation. We recognise that the HSE require certificated operatives to undertake regular refresher training, and that not to do so could compromise operatives’ safety at work, and that there are also insurance implications.
We will need some form of written evidence (such as email) to demonstrate training is required for work.
Theory /classroom face to face courses:
We will postpone most face to face theory-based classroom courses. (See also Apprenticeships). These courses are considered to be non-essential training and therefore we will not be running face to face training for groups for the foreseeable future. This will be reviewed after half term week which is February 15th-19th, reflecting the Governments current position on school re-opening, and we then hope to be able to schedule new dates for these courses for Spring onwards, depending on government guidance.
Some theory courses such as the Level 4 Award in Arboriculture have been run successfully with some on-line sessions (while it was not possible to meet in the previous lockdown). We will be looking at incorporating remote sessions wherever possible to enable delivery to continue.
Apprenticeships.
During the previous lockdown from March 2020, we managed to continue our Apprenticeship delivery by switching to on-line sessions. We do recognise that while this may not be as satisfactory as being able to meet face to face, it did enable our apprentices to continue with their learning and portfolio building and avoided having to have ‘breaks in learning’ which we feel would have been very detrimental to their progress. We feel strongly that it would be very disadvantageous to our apprentices to lose the continuity of their programme, and thanks to the inspired approach of our excellent lead assessor, we are able to maintain momentum.
We have new cohorts due to start in the coming months, and we will incorporate on-line sessions wherever possible to facilitate inductions and meetings, in order to avoid delayed starts for these candidates.
What you should do if you have booked on a course with us, in January or February:
If we have not contacted you already, please contact us to discuss your situation and your requirements.
The information above should help inform you whether or not your training/ assessments can continue as planned, but if you are not sure please get in touch and we will talk to you about it.We will ask you the following questions about your training to help us judge whether to reschedule as soon as possible, or whether to put on hold:
- Do you feel that your training can be postponed until later in the year?
- Are you, or have your candidates been previously qualified and this refresher training?
- Are you, or are your candidates, novices/beginners?
- Are there are reasons (work wise) why you/ your candidates urgently need this qualification?
If you have booked and paid, and your course needs to be postponed:
You can choose to have refund and re-book later, or to have your booking carried forward. Customers opting for the latter will be prioritised for earliest places available.
Apologies for the situation we find ourselves in -again!! Please be assured that we will do everything possible to resolve this for you and we will endeavour to deliver your training as soon as possible.
Best wishes and a Happy New Year from Allen and Karen Howell, and the Lynher team.
Issued Jan 5th 2021