Looking Back on a Decade of Progress in IPAF Training with Paul Roddis

In our exclusive podcast interview with Paul Roddis, Training Manager at IPAF, Paul reflects on nearly ten years in the role, discusses the future of IPAF training and announces his decision to step down as Training Manager, news that will be significant for many people across the powered access industry.

After nearly ten years in the role, Paul revealed that he would be stepping down as IPAF Training Manager. While his day-to-day responsibilities will change, his involvement with the industry certainly won't, with plans to continue supporting instructors, training centres and IPAF through auditing, mentoring, consultancy and instructor development.

More Than a Tick-Box Exercise

One of the themes running throughout every conversation in this series has been the importance of maintaining standards. Adele summarised: "It's not just a tick box exercise. It's not just a case of ticking boxes. It's ensuring everybody involved in working at height. Powered access operators, managers, supervisors, they all understand their responsibility."

That message has appeared repeatedly throughout our discussions on training providers, safety reporting, instructor development and employer responsibilities. Training works best when it develops competence, supports good decision-making and helps people carry out their roles safely and confidently.

A Decade of Raising Standards

Reflecting on his time as IPAF Training Manager, Paul spoke about the progress made over the last decade and the collective effort behind it. "It's been an absolute honour and certainly a pleasure to have made a real difference to people's lives all over the world." He also spoke about the work achieved through the IPAF Training Committee, instructors and training centres like us at Certora. "We've achieved so much together."

For anyone involved in IPAF training over the last ten years, it's difficult to argue with that assessment. From training standards and auditing through to instructor development and safety initiatives, the industry has continued to evolve and improve.

The Work Isn't Finished

While Paul may be stepping away from the role of Training Manager, one of the most interesting parts of the discussion centred around what still lies ahead. Before leaving the position, Paul spoke about ongoing work to further develop instructor training and ensure instructors are assessed consistently against the same standards around the world. "Completely reimagining the instructor training to meet what we really need to ensure all instructors are assessed in the same way to the same standards all over the world and to support those new instructors better."

That commitment to continual improvement is something we have seen throughout Paul's time at IPAF and remains one of the reasons IPAF training continues to be recognised globally.

Continuing the Work of Raising Standards

Throughout the interview series, recurring themes emerged around competence, consistency, professionalism and continual improvement. They are principles that sit at the heart of IPAF training and have helped shape the industry over the last decade.

After discussing the work achieved through the Training Committee and the wider industry, Paul left Adele with a simple message: "You keep doing that. Great job." We are delighted to hear such praise as an IPAF member, from IPAF’s training manager, demonstrating the accrediting body’s recognition for our training quality, auditing and customer support.

From us all here at Certora Training, thank you, Paul.

Watch the Full Interview

Our exclusive interview with Paul Roddis explores his reflections on nearly ten years as IPAF Training Manager, the progress made across the industry and the work still to come.

Watch the full interview below to hear the discussion from both Paul Roddis and Adele Coupe in their own words.