IPAF training spans globe from A to Z to meet rising demand

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has experienced another year of sustained growth around the world, which has seen international membership rise by 6.6% year-on-year, a 12% increase in annual turnover and global training delivery up by 9.4%. 

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A total of 158,727 people successfully completed an IPAF training course in 2016, which was up by almost 10% on the previous year’s total of 145,094. In the opening weeks of 2017 new training centres continued to be added to the IPAF network, which now extends from Argentina to Zambia, signifying just how comprehensively the not-for-profit trade body now spans the globe.

In the UK and Ireland membership also increased across the year, rising to 466 full members at year-end, a rise of 3.5% on the previous year. Among the individual countries where membership has grown most quickly in the past 12 months was Turkey, where a concerted membership campaign helped grow the nascent membership by 75% on the previous year. 

China saw an annual membership increase of 39%, while the Gulf Cooperation Council area (GCC) of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman saw membership numbers up by almost a third (31%).

With new standards for the design and safe use of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) launched in Singapore and expected imminently in the US and Canada, the number of operators and managers taking IPAF-accredited training has also increased significantly year-on-year, with a 140% rise in the GCC countries, Switzerland up by 46% and the Benelux region seeing a 28% increase in training take-up. 

This sustained increase in demand for IPAF-accredited courses saw the network of training centres at year end stand at 680, an increase on the previous year of 3%. Demand for training has remained strong through the early months of 2017, with ReachMaster in Houston, USA, and Boogart Technical in Kitwe, Zambia, being among the latest to undertake the process of joining IPAF’s global network of approved training centres. Demand is expected to rise as new MEWP standards are introduced.

IPAF issued a record 150,458 PAL Cards worldwide through its approved training centres in 2016, an increase of almost 10% over the 137,517 PAL Cards issued in 2015. The Smart PAL Card remains the leading industry-recognised qualification for MEWP operators, and last year saw the IPAF training programme further enhanced by the roll-out of eLearning modules that now allow candidates to complete the theory portion of their training online – anytime, anywhere and on any device. Certification is complete once the candidate has undergone practical instruction under supervision in the usual way at an approved training centre. 

The new eLearning materials can also be used to enhance classroom-based theory instruction, and are available in both the UK and the US in English, with Spanish and other language versions currently under discussion. 

Tim Whiteman, CEO & Managing Director of IPAF, says: “With new powered access standards being introduced around the world and businesses rightly concerned about how best to become compliant, particularly in North America and South-East Asia, IPAF training is still the global ‘go-to’ for MEWP operators and site managers alike. 

“Our fantastic and hard-working network of trainers continues to expand worldwide, and it is their exceptional hard work and commitment that makes IPAF’s voluntary training programme such an enduring success. 

“As always, we support our instructors by building on their skills and professionalism, and providing them with innovative and top-class learning tools, and through our robust series of Professional Development Seminars, the latest round of which has just been completed. 

“The safe use of powered access machinery is the same wherever in the world it is being operated, so by offering training right around the globe to a consistently high standard IPAF aims to aid MEWP operators and their managers become compliant with the latest standards and to promote the safe and effective use of this equipment around the world.”