Just to prove you can’t win them all we had 3 unsatisfactory IRATA assessments on Friday. It also proves that you can’t just turn up and pass the IRATA course. Despite working hard all week the guys made silly errors on the day which left the assessor with no choice but to fail them. As they were revalidating level 1s this leaves them without certification until they can successfully re-sit, hopefully, this week.
Apart from being disappointing for the candidates and trainer, I’m glad we have a system that is rigorous and unimpeachable.

As an assessor myself as well as a trainer and company owner I wear several different hats but when it comes down to it, our prime responsibility, whoever we are, has to be to the rope access industry. If we don’t fight against the cowboys out there working unsafely then we all suffer. For every RA incident that hits the media, whether the injured parties are IRATA certified or not, another building manager or engineering firm will steer clear of rope access.

On a much brighter note, our very own Chris Stone passed his IRATA Instructor exam on Friday with flying colours. He has over 17,000 hours on the ropes and over 400 hours of training experience and is a critical part of the Belay team. Congratulations.