Autec Training

Autec Training: accredited plant, construction and safety courses from Peterborough

Autec Training is a family-run business that has been operating since 1989, according to its own account. It delivers accredited workplace tests and training courses from a test and training centre in Peterborough and on job sites across the UK. Its catalogue spans plant operation, construction, industrial work and health and safety, and the company states that courses are led and signed off by its in-house team of experienced trainers and examiners.

The provider describes its offer as covering NPORS, IPAF, PASMA, CSCS and CPCS training as well as NVQs and bespoke courses designed around a client's requirements. It addresses businesses, individual learners and the wider construction industry.

Plant operator courses

The plant operation catalogue is the broadest part of the programme and is built largely around NPORS and IPAF qualifications. It includes:

• Excavators: 360 tracked or wheeled, 180 wheeled and 360 tracked mini digger.
• Earthmoving and site equipment: bulldozer, skidsteer loader, loading shovel, crusher and screener, and rear tipping dumper (ADT), forward tipping site dumper and dual view dumper.
• Lifting and handling machinery: rough terrain forklift (RTF), telescopic materials handler (telehandler), 360° roto telescopic materials handler, 360 material re-handler, lorry loader (HIAB), overhead bridge crane, Combilift straddle carrier crane (container handler) and lorry or trailer mounted forklift (Moffett Mounty).
• Road and agricultural equipment: ride-on and pedestrian road roller, agricultural tractor and tractor mounted hedge flail cutter.
• Support roles and related skills: excavation banksman, slinger signaller (slinger banksman), loader securer, CAT & Genny cable avoidance, yard shunter, harness and fall arrest training and inspection, and lift plans.

Construction and access equipment

Construction training covers working at height and access machinery. The programme lists IPAF scissor and boom lift operator training, MEWP scissor lift and MEWP boom lift courses, mast climber work platform (MCWP) training for operators, installers and demonstrators, and IPAF MEWPs for Managers and IPAF Demonstrator courses. It also includes IPAF hoist installer and advanced installer training, IPAF construction hoist operator training, IPAF PAV (push around vertical) operator training and IPAF site assessment (inspection) training. Further courses address ladder safety and inspection, and PASMA mobile tower scaffold user certification.

Health and safety qualifications

Under health and safety, Autec lists CITB Site Safety Plus courses: the two-day SSSTS Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme and the one-day CSCS Site Safety Awareness. The catalogue also includes NUCO first aid training at all levels, NUCO fire marshal and manual handling courses, asbestos awareness, Legionella awareness, hazardous spill control, face fit testing and training, abrasive wheels, working at height, and workplace accident investigation and reporting.

Industrial and specialist courses

The industrial side of the programme brings together NPORS industrial forklift operator training, all terrain vehicle (ATV) training, wood chipper and chainsaw courses at all levels, hand-held cut-off saw training up to 6m, cuplock scaffold training, scaffold swing hoist, pallet and stillage inspections, trailer towing, and truck and trailer training.

Bespoke programmes and nationwide delivery

Autec states that it can combine elements from several courses or design a course entirely around a client's requirement, using its team of instructors. Courses can be run at the Peterborough centre or at workplaces and job sites around the UK, and the company offers to organise training near a client's location.

Facilities and practical arrangements

According to the information published by the company, short-notice bookings can be accommodated, questions are answered from 7am to 11pm, and the training facilities are described as clean and modern, with free snacks and refreshments. Complimentary bed and breakfast accommodation and local transport from Peterborough station are offered on courses running for more than one day.

Accreditations and client feedback

Autec presents its courses as fully accredited and kept up to date with changes in legislation and accredited standards of best practice. The company states that it has received well over 1,000 five-star reviews and cites a figure of 1,496 reviews at the time of writing this profile. The published testimonials, attributed to Google, refer to reach truck, forklift, plant machinery and Legionella awareness training, and highlight instructors' explanations and the booking process.