Working at Height: The Risk of Expired Training

Adele Coupe has over 26 years of experience within the powered access industry and plays a key role in supporting training quality and safety standards at Certora Training. As a member of the IPAF and PASMA Training Committees, Adele is passionate about improving workforce competence and promoting safer working at height practices across the industry. Learn more about Adele.

Falls from height continue to be one of the leading causes of serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace. Despite this, refresher training is still something many businesses overlook until a certificate has expired or an incident occurs on-site.

As part of No Falls Week, Adele believes now is the right time for employers to review workforce records and ask an important question: are employees still competent to work safely at height?

Because competence is not something that should ever be assumed.

In this guest blog, Adele shares her view on why refresher training and accurate training records remain essential for reducing risk and maintaining competence when working at height.

Experience Isn’t Enough

It is easy to assume that experienced operators do not need regular refresher training. However, working at height activities often become routine, and that is where problems can develop.

Over time, operators can fall into bad habits, overlook safety procedures, or become less familiar with current best practice. Equipment, legislation, and working environments can also change significantly over the course of a few years.

Businesses assume experience automatically equals competence, but that is not always the case.

I have seen situations where experienced operators stopped carrying out proper checks or take shortcuts, simply because they had “done it that way for years."

Refresher training helps bring people back to the correct standard and reinforces the behaviours needed to work safely at height.

That matters because when standards begin to slip, the risk of incidents increases.

Unsafe Habits

Most workplace accidents are not caused by a complete lack of training. More commonly, they happen because small shortcuts or unsafe behaviours have gradually become normal practice.

A missed inspection. Incorrect use of equipment. Failure to follow emergency procedures. These issues may seem minor, but when working at height is involved, the consequences can be serious.

I think one of the biggest issues in industry is overconfidence built on years of experience, leading people to underestimate risks or skip key safety steps.

In many cases, I have spoken to operators who had developed their own methods over time, without realising these differed from manufacturer instructions or company policies.

Refresher training gives operators the opportunity to revisit key safety principles, refresh their knowledge, and regain confidence in safe working procedures before these issues lead to an incident.

It is not simply about renewing a qualification. It is about maintaining competence.

Training Records Help Identify Risk

Keeping workforce records up to date is one of the simplest ways for businesses to maintain oversight of competence within their organisation.

IPAF and PASMA licences require refresher training every five years, making it essential that expiry dates are actively monitored.

Training records help employers identify:

• Which qualifications are due to expire
• Who may require refresher training
• Whether operators have had gaps in equipment use
• Where additional supervision or support may be needed

Without accurate records, it becomes much harder to identify potential competence gaps before they become a safety issue.

I always encourage businesses to look beyond expiry dates and consider whether operators are regularly using equipment safely and correctly.

And if businesses do not know who requires refresher training, they cannot be confident that employees are continuing to work safely.

Be Proactive

No Falls Week is an opportunity for businesses to take a proactive approach to working at height safety.

Reviewing workforce records, checking refresher training dates, and reassessing operator competence may seem like small administrative tasks, but they play an important role in reducing risk.

I believe refresher training should be viewed as an opportunity to reset standards and reinforce the right behaviours across the workforce.

Working at height safety depends on more than equipment and procedures. It depends on people having the right knowledge, practical skills, and awareness every time they carry out a task.

That is why refresher training matters.

And that is why keeping workforce records up to date should always be treated as an essential part of maintaining a safe working environment.

Further Support

At Certora Training, we support businesses in keeping workforce skills up to date through refresher training and regularly support organisations who need help identifying refresher training requirements and maintaining accurate training records.

As an approved training centre, we deliver IPAF training, PASMA training, and Working at Height training, all designed to reinforce safe practices and help ensure operators remain confident, compliant, and competent in real working environments.

We also offer a Managed Service, which supports employers by helping coordinate training requirements, workforce planning, and ongoing development needs across multiple teams and projects.

The aim is simple: to help businesses stay safe, compliant, and confident that their teams are competent to work at height.

Contact us today for further support and guidance.