Gristwood & Toms Champion ABA

[ABA Northern division]

Please follow the link below for  a very interesting article

 

https://gristwoodandtoms.co.uk/news-views/gristwood-toms-champions-international-accreditation-programme/

 

If you are interested in ABA training/certification please do not hesitate to contact me on [email protected]  07931670175 or visit http://abanortherndivision.co.uk/

 

We run courses continually and with three assessors operating from our centre now (with a fourth joining in March)we can usually accommodate your needs within a timescale convenient to your self.

 

Look forward to hearing from you soon,

 

David

Edited January 23, 2018 by ABA Northern division
incorrect phone number

[Khriss]

Interesting project - would this circumvent NPTC and Lantra ? Is it to get an International standard for cross- borders working ? K

[ABA Northern division]

Hi Kriss,

 

Like NPTC & Lantra, ABA learning outcomes meet all the requirements of the National Occupational Standard (NOS) as required by the Forest Industry Training Accord (FISA).

However, the ABA learning outcomes also meet the International Occupational Standards and with 22 countries now signed up to the ABA program with more joining shortly it very much is aimed at developing and establishing an international, cross borders, standard.

 

The ABA International mission statement reads "To facilitate, accredit, develop, support and promote the recognition of individuals national skills qualifications and certifications between partner countries worldwide."

 

If you have a few minutes visit https://aba-skills.com/ for more information.

 

Thanks for your interest,

 

David

[Stuart Phillips]

There has been some debate about the ABA certifications, and the European Chainsaw Certificate from The European Forestry and Environmental Skills Council (EFESC), at the Arboricultural and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG) meetings of the HSE over the last few years.  The initial queries where on the mapping of skills against the NOS, which thankfully seems to have been resolved.  The nest step was looking at the quality assurance processes.  Much of the feedback has come through City and Guilds because, as I understand it, they were the nominated partner for the original European Chainsaw  project.

As of the last meeting of AFAG (Nov 2017) there wasn't a final 'okay' that the ABA or EFESC met the same standards as those in the UK, but it is only a matter of time.  With movement of labour, especially in the forestry sector, there is great interest in getting the proverbial 'thumbs up' on this.

[ABA Northern division]

Hi Stuart,

 

Thank you for your positive reply.

 

It’s encouraging that you believe the “thumbs up” for European Chainsaw Certification must be forthcoming soon. Particularly as leading insurers & many employers in the UK, contractors, local authorities etc are employing ABA certified operators therefore they have satisfied themselves that the ABA certification meets their legal requirement for proof of adequate training.

 

Another point in relation to the Awarding Body International (ABA) that may interest you is that their ECC/ICC chainsaw & chainsaw at height qualifications for arborists (European & International awards) have been supported by the European Commission and ABA's quality assurance processes approved by Health & Safety Authorities, adopted

adopted into national occupational standards etc in many other countries already.

 

 

David.

[Khriss]

UK has already a quite high standard on training and certification, however as I work with people from across Europe and Africa , I don't know if it will be seen as worthwhile to those people who come from relatively - in training and certification terms , poorer countries in the EU , possibly a bit of a one-way flow as yr not going to certify here to work in Cameroon or Albainia for example . K

[ABA Northern division]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your reply, interesting view points.

Consider though that in the Gristwood & Toms article it details how they are using Danish students.

 

ABA Mission Statement reads

"To facilitate, accredit, develop, support and promote the recognition of individuals national skills qualifications and certifications between partner countries worldwide."

Also consider that use of the Danish Pie Cut for felling forward leaning and backward trees is a part of EEC1 “Basic Tree Felling” and that single rope techniques are used throughout A1-A3 Arborist Qualifications.

When you look at the members of the INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS & ACCREDITATION COUNCIL you can see the fantastic professional level of international input ABA benefits from.

Those members include: -

Graeme Bain – Ireland. Consultant & expert witness.

Cecilia Zanzi dott. Agr – Italy. Expert in European projects, researcher and expert in biotechnologies applied to urban arboriculture.

Daniele Zanzi dott. Agr – Italy. Lead chief of the Arbor Master Training program in Italy, supervisor in arbor safety courses, tree biology expert, 35 years of experience in urban arboriculture.

Krzysztof Zarzycki MSc – Poland - Arborist, competition climber & skills demonstrator.

Pawel Gromek MSc – Arborist, competition climber, forest worker, consultant & skills demonstrator.

STELIAN ALEXANDRU BORZ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng – Romania.  Manager, lecturer, researcher, consultant, project manager, author.

The level of technical knowledge provided, transferred through the ABA training programs is a great boon to the UK’s skill level.

Thanks Chris,

David