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Are they subby climbers or brash rats? sounds like you have a Cooshy job with security. go with a solution , If you can be utilised more for your fitness, grit and ability to make the company more money and save them on subby wages point that out and be ready to make a desicion. Boss says cool, go make me some money and I’ll pay you more. Boss says no, then suck it up or move on. Last but not least be prepared for your boss’s side. He might say, I need to get others in as you’re not up to the task. If you need to start a thread on a forum rather than be in your position you’re in, you may be where you are meant to be.

It's a funny old world, I saw one of these today, it looked to be identical. Like buses they are. It was for sale on a stall. I went back about 30 minutes later to get a photo and it was gone. I asked the bloke and he said it had been snapped up sharpish. Reckoned he sold it for just £15, a real steal for the buyer I reckon. Shows there's a market for such things.

Plumpton, who was Instructing you then?

WTF? Anyone seen one of those before?

On my 38 training I had literally never climbed a tree on rope and harness before. I’d climbed telecomms towers for years, but this was totally different. Day 2 and I’m 40’ up an oak, climbing on both ends of a 45m rope having to tie a bowline or fig 8 every time I moved. The instructor, nice guy, talked me through every step. I was clueless. Suddenly, he pointed out I was completely unattached, his bad. FFS! That was at Plumpton.

This is the main problem that I hear about. People need to do their homework and not just rock up at the nearest college/training providers because of locality, due diligence is required to get the right Instructors that are right for your requirements. If you have been in the game twenty years, your probably not going to learn anything on a refresher day at the local college, where the instructor is last years star student with little to zero industry experience.

I know of a few assessors that are rarely booked by certain colleges/training providers because they regularly fail candidates, not because they are c*nts, but because they are thorough, do the job right and make the right call. I use these guys to assess my candidates whenever I am back in the UK because of this, the candidates always know they have performed well and earned their stripes.

On my CS38 I clipped my strop onto my hoodie, not the D rings as I thought. Launched the mainline a bit higher, clipped back in then noticed. The assessor didn't see it.

5th, before you lose your shit, further training/assessment is never wasted time or money. You always learn stuff. Getting good people like Terry Banyard or Minty out on a decent sized job is still very much on the radar.

Huge truth. I’m going back a long way, quarter of a century or so, but I’m pretty sure I was awarded LANTRA for completing the 5-day course? My NPTC was separate, the following week. Just to muddy the waters, when I passed it was a ‘ticket for life’. This renewal bollocks came later on as another cash cow for the training industry. I passed my 31 because I put the chainbrake on every 1.5 seconds. I try not to use it now at all because I’m a tight northern bastard. I’ve actually turned into one of those old pricks that failed the assessment….

I've done I think 5 tickets at the same centre, and definitely seen two fails out of what must be something like 12 people I've been assessed with - one on rigging course, one on UA1. I believe the owner of the training centre had previously worked at the local college and hated the pressure to pass everyone regardless. I'd also add the training we did was above and beyond the basic requirements of the ticket, to me it's a good centre which is why I kept going back.

John Stapleton. 79. Newsreader, Watchdog, Morning TV. Man City fan.

What you are allowed can vary greatly on your county, some forces seem to be more understanding than others. Licencing is also being tightened up since Plymouth with the latest regs coming in last month, so forces may be more strict. It will help if you have evidence of experience, land access etc and can show a general understanding of what you intend to do. The current guidance (Chapter 12) is very helpful when sorting out your good reason, so vermin and AOLQ for a .22RF. If you're after a deer rifle I'd be mindful of the lead ban so wouldn't necessarily go for a .243. The easiest route, which isn't everyones interest I know, is to join a club and if all is well after a probationary period you can get a FAC. That's what I did and I then passed my DSC1 and got an open ticket after that.

IMO you’re not wrong to think that. I am based in southwest and pay my climbers (sub contractors admittedly) between £250-£350 a day, the latter if it’s crane work or requires full/specialist rigging and I expect them to be able to carry out all tasks to a safe and high standard! So somebody in your position I would happily pay more than you’re currently on. I wouldn’t expect you to know the turnover as you’re an employee but it seems you have paid your dues with the company and a convo is needed! Good luck

That’s my thoughts exactly-looks like a lot of paint! Think it may be a long dipper too but that’s just another thing. Im leaning towards the Sany, the low hours and age make it pretty appealing. Are they too good to be true? Power/flow rates seem good according to their website but have you used one @doobin?

No one is laughing at anyone.

I use 10 on the tele and the strat. Haven't found the sweet spot on the 335 yet, but have been favouring flat wound 12s.

I was picky over training providers ,id rather have gone to private training providers than the whole college crap and you are just a number . I never did give a fk about being failed as long as the was a genuine reason for it and what I did. But also that certain college heald other certs back also ,so nptc Stoneleigh never saw them.. Laugh as much as you want but the isn't many years of experience between me and you .

Thanks for the comments and taking the time to do so. I’m not the finished product, and I’m not capable of everything, but I don’t find many people are that I have met so far. in terms of my ability I would say I’m competent. I am doing decent size sections fells and crown reductions, as I mentioned been asked if I wanna do some crane work coming up, so the boss thinks I’m capable otherwise he would not ask me. I'm based in the South West, our work is mixed we do both commercial work and private work, we have been doing more commercial work recently, the area is quite saturated lots of tree surgeons around here. We are always busy which is nice plenty of work coming in and I know that we’re not the cheapest company around but equally not the most expensive. in terms of my wage per month as a percentage of the companies monthly turn over, I am not told that kind of information and would not be told if I was asked. I’m not wanting to step out of line at all just looking for a non biased opinion and wanna know if I am wrong in thinking I’m not being paid fairly for what I’m doing.

The problem is, training and assessing is a business for these people. Arb companies want to pay their money and get a ticket. A training provider with a lower pass rate will struggle for work. Same with assessors. If they're too tough and look for a reason to fail candidates, the training provider will just use a different more amenable assessor in future. Not saying it's right, but it's definitely a huge factor.

I could quite easily go and target certain colleges and training providers whose Instructors are winging it at best, and fail every one of them, I choose not to. I assess for a small, select group of top quality Instructors, who I know are top of their game, have been for years and are still heavily involved commercially in the industry at a high level. The training, sites and kit are top notch, and the results are generally very positive for the candidates involved, I choose to be involved in this instead.

No. A harder one.

Think i prefer bashlins, tried the velcro type and didnt rate them

Haha , you trying to find an easier awarding body ? 🤣