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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 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 ? 🤣

Depends , I guess if your paye, you get ppe,sick pay, holiday pay, certs paid for , lower testing paid for , saws paid for, insurance covered , guaranteed work, poss use of vehicle, vehicle insurance covered . Versus self employed/ sub contractor which is a pain . Also dependant on what county your in depends on wages , as well as skill set . Its just short of £700 a week before tax and ni . Are u south West or south east UK?

Well this has been as much use as I suspected it might. Perhaps I should have made it a poll. Perhaps I should have asked on Facebook. Perhaps I just shouldn’t have bothered. I was asking in the hope of seeing a trend where a certain assessor/institution failed lots of people, perhaps indicating a reasonable standard.

I'm guessing that's lantra certs,bit like npors -same person trains and asses you? Never had lantra certs or training

My experience is the opposite, assesors tend to hand out certificates without much care if the student is any good at it. Hedger and brush cutter was paid for by rail boss, was 10 minutes talk, couple minutes cutting each, then given the slip of paper, told to turn our phones off and disapear until 4pm, this was at about 8:30am. One of them was 100% green never used outdoor tools before. A week later, he is using hedger above his head, drops and catches it, amputating his finger. It got sewn back on.. Doing my CS31, one of the guys was unsafe, cut through his hinge, he didnt know the different felling cuts and had to be taughg by assesor, and didnt have proper control of a saw. Assesor passed him anyway, knowing he was in work for a local company and should quickly learn. The other guy was unable to safely use a saw and got told to find a different industry. When it came to cs38/39, the first guy had greatly improved and could now use a saw correctly, but was green with climbing, knots etc... he passed. Between the assesor, trainer and the other student, one of them stole my long sling and a carabiner.

What is your wage as a percentage of the monthly turnover? Without knowing that,we are all in the dark.

Spikes, what do you use and what type of fastening do they have around the foot - have you tried other types? I've used Distel's and a few others, all had worn out leather straps, found them a pain to get on and needed a few adjustments before they were secure for climbing. I want to get my own pair with a different type, likely the webbing buckles.

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Please deliver to the driveway of the farmhouse. NOT into the farmyard next door. Please contact before, to ensure no car on driveway.

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