There is no law which says forklift training has to be provided by an accredited training provider and a qualified trainer. You can be trained by an organisation with no accreditation and be issued with a certificate or you can be trained by a colleague at your workplace. However, if there is an accident, then the employer may find it difficult to prove that the forklift operator has received appropriate training. The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Approved Code of Practice (L117) states “operator training should only be carried out by instructors who themselves have undergone appropriate training in instructional techniques and skills assessment”.
It is vitally important for companies looking to recruit forklift operators to ensure that they have appropriate qualifications from an accredited training provider. Both the forklift training organisation and their trainer need appropriate accreditation.
Although commonly referred to as forklift truck licence, it refers to the Certificate of Training. The Approved Code of Practice (L117) states that the forklift operators receive three stages of training, namely:
- Basic Training
- Specific Job Training
- Familiarisation Training
To learn more about these three stages, read Wallace Forklift Training London blog titled “What is Appropriate Forklift Training” or read “The Approved Code of Practice (L117)”.
In this blog we look at what the company recruiting a forklift operator should look for. Incidentally, this also applies to any individuals looking for forklift training organisation as well, as without appropriate training from an accredited organisation, their job prospects may not improve.
What to look for in a Forklift Certificate of Training
A forklift operator job applicant may present a Certificate of Training with their application. A genuine Certificate of training from an accredited organisation should include:
- The training organisation’s name. Ensure it has the appropriate accreditation. You can check it on their website or if in doubt or you contact the accreditation body.
- The date when the forklift operator training was passed
- The type of forklift truck the operator passed the test on
- The rated capacity and lift height of the forklift truck
- If registered with RTITB and NORS database, it will have the forklift operator Registration number. If in doubt, contact RTITB
Certificate of Training from Wallace Forklift Training London
Some forklift operators may not have a Certificate of Training despite having attended training and testing. This is because their training will have been financed by their current or previous employer who has decided to keep the training certificate. However, HSE would prefer that a Certificate of Training be given to all those who have been through training and passed the test, irrespective of who has paid for it.
Ruth Wallace of Forklift Training London says “About a quarter of all workplace accidents requiring a hospital visit are due to forklift truck accidents. For companies using forklift trucks, it is vital that their operators have appropriate training from accredited organisations. In case of a workplace accident involving a forklift truck, without appropriate training, the company would be liable to a hefty HSE fine or even a jail term for those responsible”.
Wallace School of Transport including Forklift Training in London is a fully accredited RTITB company with over 60 years' experience. You can be trained either at your own work site or at Wallace Centre in Park Royal. If you have any questions, call Wallace Forklift Training on 020 8453 3440, choose option 3 or click here to email us.