CATraining Ltd

Negotiating a success

2011-11-25T15:57:00.001-08:00

Today I spent another day attending a course rather than instructing!

With much thanks to Camgrain at Balsham for providing excellent facilities and with the services of Bob White from At Last training we settled down to the first of two management courses - Negotiating Skills, next Friday being Time/Meeting management with a nod to new technology.

Bob provided an entertaining and informative day with a diverse group of trainees all taking away much food for thought.

Next week (2nd Dec) is a different slant on "getting things done" which already has generated much interest. If you want to join us please email enquiries@catrain.co.uk for more information.

A week of Forklifts and Telehandlers

2011-11-11T00:14:00.001-08:00

A week of contrasts. Away from the training provider side of the business and this week was spent out in the field instructing in the operation of Counterbalance Forklifts and Telescopic handlers.

Starting the week with a two day counterbalance forklift course for students on farm placements. Really encouraging to see enthusiasm and capability in the new generation of farmers.

Next: A Telescopic handler course for all the staff on a traditional family farm. Again enjoyable to chat and work with some of the more mature members of the farming community while putting the world to rights!

Finally, and something very different on Thursday. Time to have my own Lantra Awards Operators certificate for Telescopic Handlers renewed! So attending a course as a trainee with a couple of managers from research farms in Cambridge, Craig Ireland did an excellent job of running the course and plying us with Chocolate digestives. Thank you also to NIAB for hosting the day.

So a great week with some fascinating people and a wide variety of equipment to operate. The paperwork is already filed with Lantra Awards who are doing an excellent job of turning round registrations and certificates at present.

Friday then is all about planning next week and closing down this weeks courses on the system.

Health and Safety Courses Autumn Winter 20011-12

2011-10-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

As part of our continuing campaign for Landbased Industry Health and Safety Awareness we are pleased to announce our dates for Health and Safety Awareness Courses across East Anglia. Benefiting from Landskills East funding these courses will also provide a Lantra Awards certificate of attendance.

Last year we presented a number of courses specifically for particular areas of the industry. We also picked up nationwide news coverage being featured on BBC Breakfast News (along with some lambs!)

Our courses in Health and Safety awareness benefit from over 30 years in the Agricultural industry and use recent examples and experience to show how your business can be safe and remain productive.

Dates:
18 November - South Cambs
07 December - Hertfordshire
11 January - East Suffolk
01 Feburary - South Cambs
07 February - East Suffolk
08 February - Hertfordshire

Other Courses Click HERE

2011-09-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

October 2011 Update

Dates available now for
PA4 (S) PA 6 and PA2 Courses click HERE
Emergency Aid Click HERE
Welding Abrasive Wheels HERE
Management Courses HERE
More Autumn dates being added. Just email us (HERE)for more information.

Harvest 2010

2011-09-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yes that is right Harvest 2010. As we all bask in an Indian summer I was reminded of this video I made at the latter end of a difficult harvest in 2010 here in Suffolk. With thanks to Farmer and Combine operator Peter Holloway:

Anglia Rural Training gains Landskills East Award

2011-09-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

You may be interested toknow that ART (our umbrella organisation) receivedthe award for “Most Progressive Delivery Partner” at aFunding awards ceremony held at "Jimmys Farm" by Landskills East last night. This in partreflected the support of all of our customers who have supportedthe Landskills East funding initiative for skills development inthe East of England by attending courses provided by CAT Ltd.

Jo Bruce who has managed the project on behalf of ART said:

This project has been all about teamwork right from the beginning - Landskills East, NorfolkCounty Council and their delivery partners - Us - The East AnglianTraining providers who make up Anglia Rural Training and then our customers who havesupported the project and made it the success it is.

At CATraining Ltd. we are also quite pleased in our own right as we designed and developed the database used to enable ART to manage the project. The database has so far managed over 2000 courses from the 10 members of Anglia Rural Training from initial grant application through to the management of the repayments from Landskills East all at varying skill levels, grant rates (and VAT changes).

In the next few weeks we will be launching our CATraining Ltd. Autumn programme, much benefiting from Landskills East funding.

New Services for 2011/12

2011-09-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

More technology I am afraid.September is a time we spend planning for the Winter season. After an exceptionally busy year we have revisited how we can better action training requests and supply information to our customers.Over the next few months we will be contacting all our customers with records of services provided over the last two years. We will also be targeting relevant training courses to our customers so they can plan and budget training over the coming months.By October we hope to launch online access for our regular customers to records and upcomimg course information. Eventually this will be available to all our customers.So in summary this year will be about giving you the information you need and responding to training request efficently so you, our customer, can keep track of your training and skills development in a simple and efficient way.Just to remind you: Landskills funding still available, The funding rates change with the moon cycles, have an idea? need advice on funding? Talk to us now - we will navigate the minefield for you!

21st C Training

2011-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

The changing face of training.

On the day that Steve Jobs steps down from Apple we have some changes in how we have improved our service to you, our customers. The connection is Apple.

Today we ran our first course fully provisioned through an ipad and iphone. The presentation and smartboard was run through an ipad, the trainee photographs were captured on an iphone. When the weather went wrong for our outside based course we even used an app on the ipad to track the satellite image of the rain to plan our days training. By this evening Lantra Awards had our paperwork scanned and processed on the ipad emailed ready for processing tomorrow and our training partner Mid Kent training had both their paperwork and their invoice (!). Job done

Lantra Awards are turning around our online claims in record time - Thank you Steve Jobs! (Record so far is three days, how can we beat that Sharon @ Lantra Awards!)

Over the coming weeks we plan to further refine this system for all our courses with CAT attendance certificates despatched the same day as training completes and online traceability for assurance scheme auditing.

CATraining, not just another training provider.

Autumn Course Planning underway

2011-08-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

While everyone is busy with their outside work at the moment we are starting the autumn training schedule.

First few courses are now online with Health and Safety Awareness dates and information HERE

NRoSO updates dates and information HERE

More will be added in the coming weeks in readiness for our autumn program.

New HSE Figures for 2009/2010 released

2011-06-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

From HSE, Headline message here:

In 2009/10 the rate of fatal injuries was 8.0 per 100 000 workers. This is slightly below the average figure for the previous 5 years of 8.2 per 100 000 workers. However, agriculture still has the highest rate of fatal injuries of all industries.
In 2009/10p Agriculture accounted for 0.9% of the employees in Britain, 1.4% of reported injuries to employees (15% fatalities, 2% major and 1% of over three day injuries). The Labour Force Survey (LFS)¹ estimates that around 3% of all non-fatal injuries occurred in Agriculture in 2008/09 (three-year average).
Agriculture has one of the highest rates of reported major injury of the industry sectors. In 2009/10p, there were 242.1 major injuries per 100 000 employees in agriculture compared to 203.1 in 2008/09.

Read the summary on HSE Website HERE

The Good News - Forklift Deaths Fall

2011-06-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

In a press release today the Fork Lift Truck Association (Full report HERE) announced that there had been a dramatic fall in fatalities involving Forklift trucks. As providers of Lantra Awards accredited training in Industrial Forklifts and Telehandlers it is excellent to be able to provide a good news story and show how training does have real tangible benefits.

Find out more about our Forklift Training Courses HERE

Microsoft 365 Launch Date Announced

2011-06-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

John Roskill, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Partner Group announced through a tweet yesterday the public release date of Office 365. In the tweet he says:

June 28th is the date for General Availability of Office 365!

As a Microsoft Partner we have been trialling this product and the on-line opportunities it allows for e-mail and business co-operation and management. We have been waiting for this announcement in order to publicise the benefits to our customers.More on this as June 28th approaches.

Meet us at the Shows this Summer

2011-05-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

We are about at the shows!

Suffolk Show 1st June:We'll be around, drop us a line if you want to meet up!

Attending a Landskills Health and Safety Event? -we will see you at Shuttleworth, Milton College, Easton Farm Park..

Going to Cereals we are about on day 2- in the afternoon we will be on the Landskills East stand C452.

CATraining Ltd Forklift and Telehandler Courses Updated

2011-05-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

With new presentation materials and a new interactive structure our updated courses in Forklift and Telehandler operation meet today's demands. Based on Lantra Awards integrated training and assessment courses we can now provide a unique training experience using the latest technology for learning and skill development.

Click HERE for more information

May Day Week end

2011-04-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

If you are using the week end to catch up on what training opportunities are about feel free to drop us an e-mail. We will reply to all enquiries as soon as possible.

If not have a great week end - Chris

Pesticides Information and Courses

2011-04-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

We have a new page for information on Pesticide training and courses:
You can find the page here: http://www.cambridgeareatraining.co.uk/pesticides.html .

W/C 25/04/2011 Updates

2011-04-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Brushcutter and Health and Safety Course updates - please view via our NEWS pages Click HERE .Includes our new video course demonstrations.

Spring 2011 News

2011-04-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

We are filling up our Summer calendar - Open course dates are now available on our Courses information page .

The HSE , together with NFU and Lantra SSC are running a major campaign on cutting fatalities and deaths in Agriculture - we have a number of course running over the next few months to support this. More information on our News page.

We are about to launch a number of new services through our website - more on this later.

Spring Course update

2011-02-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

We have now presented the the new updated Lantra Awards Health and Safety Course. Combined and developed specificly for Potato farmers, feed back has been positive, so a big thumbs up to Lantra Awards for providing the new materials.

We already have two more courses booked. Interested, gives us a quick e-mail.

Our Course page HERE has new courses and dates being added through now , ready for Spring.

Finally:

We are extremely lucky to have secured the services of Christine Walkden for a special day out at Trumpington Hall, see HERE for details.

2011-01-24T01:16:00.000-08:00

Revised Lantra Awards Course Now Available

24/01/2011: We are plerase to announce we can supply the revised Lantra Awards Working Safely in Agriculture/Horticulture .
• Content is closely aligned to real hazards and risks encountered in agriculture/horticulture workplaces.
• Extensive use of real accidents/case studies investigated by HSE
• All 10 learning outcomes to support achievement of the Level 2 Award in Safe Working in Agriculture and Production Horticulture (QCF) qualification.
Dates for this course can be found here

Lantra Awards H&S Courses

Management Training Courses Highlight

2010-10-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to find out more about the following, Dealing with Pressure, Negotiating Skills, Say What you want and Time management - everything you need to make your life run smoothly!

Course Calendar for 2010/11 now online

2010-08-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

We know from feedback that you would really like a list of up coming courses to view. After a bit of headscratching we have a system that will let provide information on open courses.

All you need to do is click HERE and then book mark the Course listing page.

We are adding courses all the time as they are confirmed so please do check back regularly.

Remember we are happy to talk about and if possible organise courses thst are not showing on the system. Please do just ring us and we will be only to happy to talk about your requirements.

Tragic Rise in Farm Deaths reported by HSE

2010-07-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

Date:
    30 June 2010

New figures for the number of workers who were fatally injured in the agriculture sector have today been released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

They show that between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010:

    * 38 agriculture workers were killed at work, marking a return to average levels of previous years in contrast to the record low in 2008/09 when 25 workers died
    * the rate of fatal injuries in the sector was 8.2 per 100,000 workers, making it the most dangerous industry in which to work
    * of the 38 agriculture workers killed, 17 were employees and 21 were self employed people.
    * seven members of the public were also killed in work related accidents in the sector.

HSE's Head of Agriculture, Graeme Walker said:

"38 workers were killed on British farms last year, failing to come home to their families because of avoidable safety failings - proving once again that agriculture is the most dangerous way of making a living in Great Britain.

"The fact that many of these lives have been lost in family businesses is a double tragedy. Not only have families been ripped apart, but businesses that have been handed down through generations have been ruined.

"Farming and agricultural work has a poor safety record compared with other industries - we cannot let this trend continue."

This is despite the news that: New figures released today reveal that the number of people killed at work in Britain fell last year to a record low.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released the provisional data, which shows that 151 workers were killed between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010 compared to 178 deaths in the previous year and an average number over the last 5 years of 220 deaths per year.

CATrain access Landskills East Funding

2009-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to be able to announce that through our partners in ART we are now able to fund eligible courses and training projects through the Landskills East project up to a 65 %. We will be holding a series of briefing sessions through the autumn - if you wish to attend or would like an informal chat about eligibility criteria please contact us here: landskills@catrain.co.uk . More on this exciting development later.

Landskills East is supported under the Rural Develeopment Programme for England by EEDA, Defra,and the EU co-ordinated by Lantra, managed by the Rural Enterprise Hub at Easton College in partnership with Norfolk County Council

A busy week doing what?

2009-08-20T12:23:00.001-07:00

This week should have been quiet but even with many people on holiday it has turned out to be a little bit busier than usual.

Monday, Visits to two of our regular and long serving customers to establish training needs for the next 6 months. This is always useful because it helps us plan and book the right instructor and facilities in time. Cambridge Wildlife Trust who were one of the visits was extremely beneficial as we have only ever communicated by e-mail or telephone ansafone before! It really is useful being able to names and faces together. More on how we work with CWT for another blog.

Tuesday, Another customer – Crown Nurseries and the fruition of some training earlier in the year. Crown Nursery benefited from three of their staff receiving IT training through the Women in Work scheme we promoted last year. This resulted in a review of the way they use computers in the office and led to us installing a Windows Homeserver network to provide efficient cost effective back up and document sharing. We achieved this as a software only solution using existing hardware. Through our IT experience we were able to help our customer right through from initial training to developing a new way of IT management in the office.

Wednesday, was finishing off and checking the backups at Crown went as planned. The afternoon ended up on the telephone discussing new courses.

Thursday, Mmmh, well it happens to us all – Paperwork day. I often wonder what will happen when we arrive at the paperless office.

Friday is planning day. After a week of enquiries we need to sit down with the calendar and look at New and existing courses. Over the coming weeks we will be highlighting some of the changed to existing courses and the new courses and legal requirements, one of the first of these will be the new DRIVERS CPC for professional LGV and PCV drivers - From the 10th September 2008 a new legislative directive comes into force with the aim to improve the skills and knowledge of all PCV and LGV drivers throughout their working lives. We will dedicate a complete post to this in the next few weeks.

Help for Heros and Why

2009-08-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

You may notice that for nearly a year we have carried a link to Help for Heroes on the right hand side of our blog. Nothing to do with our business or training but this news report highlights why we we feel we should do "something" If you read the article, from the BBC, and then may be think about Help for Heroes

Training - The view from Federation of Small Businesses

2009-08-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

Traka Forklift Security - the way forward?

2009-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

We often talk about "key out " policies with machinery - here is one way that technology is helping solve the problem in a practical way.

Communications

2009-07-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

One of the most important items for any business is the ability to communicate and be known to be in communication and able to respond to customers. In an odd sort of way this was emphasized to me again on Monday.

A bit of history - back in the early 1990's when I worked for CPB at Thriplow we had, wait for it - two "mobile phones" I use the term mobile in its' loosest sense. When one of these had a problem I looked in Yellow pages and found a small local business called CBS Communications in Beche Road, Cambridge. Arriving at CBS comms. I was amazed that the guy didn't write off our equipment and try and sell us a newer model but no, he cannibalised another 'phone and sorted us out there and then. Since that day and through three different companies I have continued to use CBS communications for my mobile phone(s) and this week that loyalty was again restored.

Recently, having expanded our 'phone and data package things weren't quite right so Linda at CBS told us to send our Vodafone bill in and someone would sort it. We did this last Friday, catching the last post. Five o'clock on Monday evening an email from Marcus who "is" CBS Communications Ltd. By Tuesday at 09:00 all the issues we had were sorted. This reminded me why nearly twenty years ago I had decided this was a company to rely on.

So as with a lot of our philosophy of buy from and support local business, our judgement has brought its' own rewards.

So a free plug for CBS HERE

Health and Safety - Good News

2009-06-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe the investment all our customers have made in Skills training and Health and Safety based subjects is starting to pay off!

From the HSE website:

In agriculture there were 26 fatal injuries in 2008/09 with a corresponding rate of 5.7 deaths per 100 000 workers. This compares to a rate of 9.9 when an average of the previous five years is examined.

For the last 10 years at least the figure has stayed around the 50 deaths a year mark so this really is something of a break through.

Wasps!

2009-05-16T02:54:00.000-07:00

With the summer fast approaching a quick reminder of one of our new courses this year. We are extremely lucky to have Graham providing us with a full day on Wasp Control. The full programme for the day can be found if you click HERE along with the ability to register your interest in this course which is scheduled for early June.

26th February 1987

2009-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was reading through the minutes of our predecessor "Cambridge Agricultural Training Group" from 26/02/87 tonight.

Past and Present, Three of our valued customers were on the committee then and remain loyal customers in 2009, :EW Pepper, Trumpington Farm Co. and P & O Harrold.

The business ran 55 days of training over the preceding year (1986), we now run over 200 days per year!

The turn over of the business was £8,000 - it is now ten times that amount but how we manage to achieve that figure without the funding from the govt through ATB is something of a challenge. A big thank you to those who continue to renew your membership each year.

The subject of funding for skills training was discussed, (some things never change)

I hope to produce some more of our history on line as an archive and acknowledgment of our story. Look to our website for more facts and figures from the past.

Towing the Line

2009-04-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

We often get asked about training and preparation for tests involving towing. The Highways Agency has produced a video to explain and illustrate some of the issues involved. If you want to discuss preparation for the B+E test or feel you just want a refresher on towing and reversing, be it a horsebox, caravan or 10 tonne grain trailer please feel free to contact us, as these are training sessions we quite regularly hold.

Click HERE for that video

Expansion

2009-03-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

It seems odd to write about expansion at this time but that is what has happened. Our business has always been split into the practical hands on bit of instructing for our own group and other providers. We then have the important bit for our customers of organising and setting up training courses and programmes.

The trouble is this all takes time - so we have invested in office systems and staff. What does this mean for you? Well the paperwork generated from every course (what ever happened to the paperless office?) is now sorted as soon as we start on a course, certificates are processed in the same manner. Just a quick warning - we will be doing the same with invoices as well!

This miracle of organisation is Sue - you may well speak to her on the phone if you dial the office.

At the same time we are looking at ways to use our website, e-mail and the post office more effectively to help with communications about courses and related "stuff". You may already have received our e- newsletter, although some versions mysteriously translated into Latin on their way through the internet.

We have some important news about funding to announce during March - use the subscribe link at the bottom of this page to be notified as soon as we are in a position to release details.

BASIS points and Agronomy update.

2009-02-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

KWS are hosting the following event at Thriplow on 26th March. Please contact us for details of cost and further information. (12 Basis points)

• Practical impacts of the European Parliament decision on
pesticide authorisation.

• Implications of the High Court decision in favour of Georgina
Downs V's DEFRA regarding the protection of neighbouring land users from
pesticide drift, and the subsequent decision by DEFRA to appeal the
against the ruling.

• New NVZ rules and forthcoming Revised RB209 - the implications
for fertiliser use.

• Agronomy and crop protection challenges of the 2008/9 season so
far.

• Spring crop protection decisions in combinable crops.

Time will also be allowed to cover other issues that arise from
individuals.

Do You Need a Database?

2009-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

When I started with CATraining 3 years ago a new "Training Database" had just been purchased. It was supposed to be the answer to all our problems.

Three years later and we are emerging from the nightmare of our database. As some of you may have discovered certificates for courses have arrived late and notifications have been inconsistent.

I apologise but the reason is quite simple. We were trying to let the system run us rather than vice versa. While I have been grappling with the database from hell, Su has diligently been sorting out the paperwork in the time honoured way.

We now have a solution, the customer and paperwork drives the computer, not vice versa! Make no mistake we need the computer to do the number crunching and remind us when we need to let you know about certificate expiry or where that missing certificate is but all this comes from the efficient filing of course paperwork.

So looking to the future we now have a system that works on all levels and for your benefit. We also now understand databases and Microsoft Access back to front so if you think you need to understand databases or that your Excel speadsheet doesn't do quite what you want it to do call us we might just be able to help.

Working at Heights Course Relaunch

2008-11-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

Another busy week for us with news of developments we will be bringing you over the coming weeks. Thinking about it, where has the week gone??

What I want to talk today about is our relaunch of the Working at Heights Course Package. For the last 18 months we have been running courses to complement the Lantra Awards Working @ Heights Risk Assessment Certificate. With the experience of those 18 months we have redesigned our presentation and materials. We can also target the course to particular customer requirements through the development of a number of specialist modules. Utilising animations, new graphics, video and revised handouts we now have a product that we feel really delivers the important bits about Working at Heights in an entertaining and practical way.

Oh, and to deliver this and our other materials we have upgraded our presentation system to include a High Definition Projection system so our customers can see and benefit from the improved presentation we have designed to go with this course. All this at the same cost as last year - remember if you are a member of CATraining your discount has increased from 5 to 10% for the course, (certification excluded)

(We can provide this as a CATraining course (Lantra Awards registered) or provide it as a course c/w Lantra Awards registered instructor to other training providers - see dates opposite for our own Lantra Awards registered courses)

New Course announced -Practical Risk Assessment

2008-11-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

New for 2009. CA Training Ltd - Practical Guide to Risk Assessments.

After talking about accident prevention in our last post here is one of the ways we hope to help in our aim to reduce injury and accidental death at work.

We already run a 1 day Health and Safety at Work in Agriculture and Horticulture (Lantra Accredited) Course. We are now launching our own One Day Practical Guide to Risk Assessment Course.

This consists of a morning outlining what you need to know and how to perform basic Risk Assessments. The afternoon is then a practical session where you undertake a Risk Assessment based on your own business using your knowledge and the information supplied in the morning.

Ideally suited to small businesses both landbased and others. Coupled with the Lantra 1 day Health and Safety Awareness Course this provides the ideal start to a good grounding in meeting your Health and Safety responsibilities at work.

Next Course dates:

Tuesday 20th January
Thursday 12th February

No, not more statistics!

2008-11-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

You will probably have heard or seen in the media the latest figures on injuries and deaths in the workplace. Land based industry achieves another record as making it one of the most popular places to kill or injure yourself. If you want the actual figures you can click HERE for the HSE summary and further link to the detailed statistics. What I want to write about today is not statistics but people. Behind all those numbers, trends and graphs are people who have lost a member of their family or been involved in an accident themselves.

One of the sad things for us is that we are often contacted after an accident to train others in a business to prevent further accidents. This isn't the sort of training we enjoy. Most accidents as the HSE will tell you are in a number of key areas - there are only so many ways to kill yourself.

So that is great - we've talked about it. What are we going to do? Well over the coming weeks we are starting an overhaul on the information on our web-site. The first stage will be to detail the main safety related courses. We will be looking at who they are aimed at, what they cover and most importantly what we see as the benefit to you of each of those courses and why you should attend.

Maybe between us we can kick a hole in those statistics.

How we help our members

2008-10-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

This week I have been visiting a number of our members and helping them access the Women in Work training scheme (£400 funded out of £650 training per person). We have accessed potentially £6000 for our members this week. Not all that training will be supplied by CATraining Ltd. We just do not have a breadth of access to cover everything - and when that is the case we will say and try and point people in the right direction.

We are also asked why, if we are not getting the business are we putting effort into this project. To confirm, we do not get any commission or referral fees. The reason we do it is quite simple we are historically the organisation that landbased industries in the area should come to about their training needs. We hope that by charging a nominal membership fee we can cover the cost of researching identifying and helping our member customers on an impartial basis.

To follow on from that we are trying to see what benefit their is from the latest government statement on training- see this statement - we hope it may make Train to Gain easier for you to access but at present we don't know. We will announce any news we find out here first.

If you want to hear our latest news and you understand these things then subscribe to our RSS feed at the bottom of this page.

Chris

October - back from the fields

2008-10-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Judging by the amounts of e-mails and telephone calls a lot of our customers are catching up with work outside and thinking about training programmes for the winter and spring. With the recent events and uncertainty in the financial world it seems that many people are taking the view that a well trained team will mean they are better placed for the future.

We have been taking a look at some of our traditional courses and updating the materials used to present them. Those attending our Manual Handling and Forklift/Telescopic courses will start to see a fresh look as we move away from some of those older training films. Despite going to industry for sponsorship we have had to fund this directly ourselves and we offer a big thank you to those businesses that have allowed us access to their premises to film. We like to think that by providing modern up to date situations for our courses we are helping present training that is relevant to your business in 2008 not 1988!

Our printed newsletter has just been mailed out along with a letter for our members updating on what we have and what we plan to get up to.

For the most up to date information on course availability we are continuing to update the list to the right of this post. When I have sorted out the technology we will have a full calender available on line as well to show which courses are available and when.

Training Just Got Cheaper with CA Training Ltd! 3 Ways to Save on Training Costs This Year

2008-09-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Saver No. 1
At a time when costs seem to have spiralled for just about everything we are pleased to say we are bucking the trend for our members.

For the last year we have maintained a 5% discount on all training costs. As from this year all members who renew their membership will benefit from a 10% discount on training costs (excludes external certification and assessment cost.). We also intend to contain as far as possible course costs with the only increase being a reflection of instructors charges to CA Training Ltd. Our overall administration costs are not increasing this year.

Saver No. 2
We have been able to secure funding for Women in Agriculture on selected Courses. If you feel you or your staff may qualify please get in touch so we can confirm your eligibility

STOP PRESS.
Saver No.3
Lantra Awards has announced today that certification on registration costs for a number of their courses have now been reduced. Most important is the range of Forklift Courses.
—————-
So this means that if you are a CATraining Ltd. member you will save 10% on training costs and up to 30% on last years registration costs for a Forklift or Telescopic Handler Course. If your trainee is a woman you may be able to save even more!
We hope that this is good news for those of you who are thinking about your autumn training and we will be pleased to discuss your individual requirements for the coming months

Accidents at Work - new statistics

2008-07-31T01:46:00.000-07:00

We were running a forklift training course the other day and the accident figures used came up for discussion. The casualty/mortality figures in the skills guide issued on these courses are for guidance only.

A quick phone call to my HSE contact and I was pointed at a recent HSE press release.

First the Figures for 2007:

HSE statistics highlight transport as the second biggest cause of work-related deaths, after falls from height. Every year, around 70 people are killed in transport-related accidents in the workplace and around eight of those involve Fork Lift Trucks. Of 2,249 reported accidents in one year, involving Fork Lift Trucks, 626 caused major injuries, including amputations and broken bones.

Next the reason for the press release, which involved a £1,750 fine for the employee - warning for everyone to drive carefully.

HSE’s investigating inspector Anne Robinson said:

“It is important that individuals are aware that they, as well as their employer, have duties under the law to take reasonable care of the health and safety of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work. Mr Wyatt’s employer had employed an in-house forklift truck trainer and Mr Wyatt had received regular refresher training and re-testing.

“In this case his forward visibility was significantly obscured by the load and he could not see his colleague. The injuries inflicted could have been significantly worse, or even fatal. Operators of lift trucks must ensure that they operate them in accordance with the training they have been given to prevent such tragedies.”

So a quick reminder at this busy time of year to just take a few seconds to think.

What Summer Means

2008-07-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a childrens "What I did in the holidays" title doesn't it? But actually it is quite important.

While many of our customers in land based industries are at their busiest time of year we at CA Training are as well but in a different way.

August is a time when we must plan for winter training programmes. We have to anticipate 6 months in advance what will be new requirements, what new courses are being offered to us and who will benefit from them. Part of the problem is that our customers are busy with their core business and don't want us interupting that. The weather is enough of a nuisance without us compounding the problem!

So what will be new and what will we repeat this season? The standards are still there: Emergency Aid, Fire Risk Assessments, Brushcutters, Abrasive Wheels, Forklifts, Tesecopic Handlers, Pesticide updates, PA1,2, 4, 6, 11 et al preparation, H&S at various levels, Food Hygiene and the rest.

New for this coming year? Well we have access to a mobile IT training suite - one of the topics we are including electronic time management, e-mails how to be in control. Traditional courses have had an overhaul with new materials for Forklift and Manual Handling.

We are also asking the question: What do YOU want from training? Competence or Certificate, they are not always the same thing and we would like to hear your views.

Students Receive Health and Safety Awards

2008-07-01T03:02:00.000-07:00

We have been asked to attend the presentation of Health and Safety Awards at the Royal Show on 3rd July. This is because of our involvement with Lantra Awards in this qualification and because we provided the instruction to the Level 2 Award winner Scott Melton, providing the training course through TTA (West). For the full press release from Lantra Awards click on the link here:

Students Receive Health and Safety Awards

2008-06-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

OK, A Good Week.

Why? Well sometimes it just goes right. Most importantly the right people on the right courses. It does make a difference, people feel happier and the course just works. I also visited a couple of businesses on safety issues. One a long term customer - we are pretty much there and they are seeing the benefits of "getting it right". The other business is a new one but they are committed to investing in all aspects of the business and can see that H & S is not just yellow coats and paperwork but making it all work at a practical level.

Back to training then. This week has been Animals in Transit, Manual Handling, Mig Welding, Forklift Refreshers and Brushcutters. Quite a variety then. Our manual handling presentation was really good fun we had a great group of Polish guys who could speak Russian and Polish but not English . Luckily our Lithuanian translator Mark could speak English and Russian so problem solved. Anyway a great day, everyone enjoyed the day and training was a success. Thanks guys!

June Update

2008-06-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

What have we been doing since April? Well actually you are probably more interested in what is coming up. More on that later. Courses run over the last month have included Emergency Aid in various forms. ATV training, Brushcutters/Strimmers, Pesticides in various guises. Quite busy on the Forklift/Telescopic handler front especially with the pre-summer season renewals. This brings me on to an important point. The changes in design of some of the newer machines make the existing training programme appear at odds with the way some machines are designed to operate. As a result we are in discussion with Lantra Awards the accrediting body for the courses we run to see if we can reflect these changes, especially in the renewal/refresher courses which are designed for advanced users to some extent. In the mean time we will acknowledge these changes within our existing courses.

Lsst week I also attended a Focus Group at Lantra Awards to hear about developments within their business. As soon as these developments are confirmed we will link into the news as the plans will be quite useful for both you and us.

Cereals 2008 ran last week and seemed quite busy: Farmers Weekly have a useful news feed here for anyone who couldn't make it.

Over the next few weeks we are running our usual pre-Summer Telescopic/Combine/Tractor courses as well as PA1, PA6 courses. We are in the process of arranging a PA11 seed treatment course which still has a few places left on it.

We hope to be able to present a package to allow our customers to take the newLevel 3 Certificate in Controlling Risks to Health and Safety in Agriculture/ Horticulture as a part on-line, part tutored course. This should be available in the autumn.

It's Lantra Awards!

2008-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have been reminded in my last post that I made reference to Lantra, not Lantra Awards. What is the difference you may ask?

Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector.

Lantra Awards specialises in qualifications and training for people in the land-based sector through a network of local approved centres and training providers, and has more than 30 years experience in this field.

It is Lantra Awards who we belong to as a training provider. Generally they will provide the accreditation for Forklift, Tractor, Brushcutter and other Skills based courses for our trainees.

From a training point of view we have been busy and will be more so for the remainder of May with Forklift training prior to the summer season. Other courses and course enquiries have been Abrasive Wheels, Emergency Aid, More Livestock Transport, Working at Heights, Brushcutter and Strimmers, Tractor Driving and HACCP.

Looking to the future we are preparing courses in Mig Welding, More Emergency Aid, Grainstore Monitoring, Forklift and Telescopic Handling and with a reminder that the summer is almost on us Combine operation and settings!

Hope to be back with a few pictures next time.

2008-04-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so like the Diary you get at Christmas our diligance with the blog lapsed a little.

So what have we been doing and what do we need to tell you about?

Well first we have been playing with Microsoft Accounting 2008. Even if money isn't your thing you should be aware that the Express version is free and is pretty much a Sage substitute.

Next item on the list is to remind everyone who needs telescopic/forklift/tractor training before the summer to let us know! I am doing more of this training than I want to as the other instructors we use are also extremely busy. The sooner you can let us know your requirements the sooner we can get you in the system and allocated to one of our approved trainers.

For those of you with livestock, it appears we are all just waiting for the b/t vaccine to appear. On the transport of animals subject, just to remind everyone we can offer the Lantra assessment (with our own training programme) or the NPTC assessment. If you want to be certified for more than one species the Lantra assessment appears to be the more cost effective solution. Please don't hesitate to call us for latest developments in this ever changing area.

Finally, with harvest approaching we are getting together a grainstore monitoring course. if you feel this is for you let me know asap!

2008-03-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Second post, better than my diary plans each January!

Well last week all the training happened. A few new locations due to the weather. Interesting moves afoot from Lantra with regard to training and upcoming courses, a case of come back here for news when we can give you something definite.

Week commencing 17 March, more Forklifts, a Telescopic refresher, A pesticide update course and then Easter.

We have had a few enquiries for Fire Marshall, Abrasive Wheels and Manual Handling over the last week so if you are interested in the same lets us know and we will have a course sorted.

So a fairly brief post this week but plenty going on. Next week I have a few days out in Scotland but with the wonders of communication we should still achieve an update!!

Welcome

2008-03-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well, one of the questions I get asked most often is what are you doing, we haven't heard much from you.

The answer is that we are busy - but doing what? Well this blog is to give you an answer to that question. I will probably regret this but I aim to keep an on line diary for Cambridge Area Training Ltd (which is becoming CATraining to save time!)

So First entry and what are we doing w/c 10th March?

Well we have the following courses running

Pesticides PA1 and PA2
Lantra Awards Forklift 2 day, experienced operator
Lantra Awards Telescopic Refresher 1 day (required for operators every 5 years)

What am I doing?

Monday: Finalising CAT Ltd end of year accounts.
Tuesday: Anglia Rural Training (our "trade association") Quarterly meeting, I am chairman next year so need to pay attention!
Wednesday: Running the Telescopic refresher instruction.
Thursday: Attending Lantra Awards Training Providers annual meeting - our chance to put our experiences with customers to the people who provide official accreditation for the courses you attend and need. This year we need to get across the message that our customers are looking for quality, best use of time, quality and value for money. This is against a background where Lantra Awards has to be ever more answerable to auditing bodies and meeting performance criteria. The out come of these meetings is important for both our customers and us. Another day I have to stay awake.
Friday is Money and Certificate day, we send the invoices , pay the bills, post certificates and catch up on the week.
Saturday is where we finish what we didn't do on Friday!
Sunday : This promises to be fun. Many of you know I like old aeroplanes with old engines, preferably V12s. Well I have been involved with the organisation of a talk by James May of Top Gear fame at The Fighter Collection at Duxford Airfield, so along with a goggle eyed 11 year old boy I will be in Hangar 2 at Duxford.
Monday, well that is next weeks blog.

oops, nearly forgot. We have a Chainsaw course this week. Next week I will talk about chainsaw training as it really is an important area to get the right decisions and right courses.