NPORS Telehandler (Telescopic Handler) Training (N010)

Five days for a novice on the NPORS test sheet, one day for a refresher, and one to two days for an experienced worker test. NPORS also publish minimum hours for this category, which is what really sets the length: 28 hours for one or two novices and 35 hours for three, at a seven hour day. That is why a group of three takes longer than a pair, and why we quote once we know the numbers.

The card itself is not named in law. What is named is the duty under PUWER 1998 to ensure operators have adequate training, and the Approved Code of Practice L117 which says how that is done for rider operated lift trucks. An NPORS N010 is the recognised way of evidencing the basic training element, and no principal contractor will let an untrained operator near a machine without one.

No, and this is the point most pages skip. L117 describes three elements: basic training, specific job training and familiarisation. The card covers basic training and part of specific job training. The employer still has to familiarise the operator with the actual machine and the actual site under supervision, and then authorise them to operate. We tell you exactly what is left to do.

The N010 covers the telehandler doing what it was designed for, which is carrying a load on forks or in an attachment. The N138 covers lifting a load that hangs freely on a hook, a jib or a chain. That is a lifting operation under LOLER, the load chart is different and basic telehandler training does not include it. Operators doing hook work need both.

NPORS and CPCS are both CSCS partner card schemes and the NPORS card carries the CSCS logo where the operator holds a valid CITB Health, Safety and Environment test. Most UK principal contractors accept either. A small number of clients still specify CPCS in their own rules, so if you are working to a named contractor specification it is worth checking their requirement before you book.

The NPORS CSCS Trained Operator card runs for two years, within which the operator is expected to achieve the relevant NVQ and move to the Competent Operator card, which runs for five. Outside construction, the traditional NPORS card is issued on a three or five year registration. Separately from the card, HSE expect operators to be reassessed from time to time, and three to five years is the usual practice.

Yes, and it is the better option. Training on your own machine means the operator learns your chart, your attachments and your ground rather than a demonstration machine they will never see again. We need a suitable area, loads to work with and a machine with a current thorough examination. There are no scheduled dates: we run it when your operators and the machine can be released.

That is the experienced worker route. It is test focused rather than taught, NPORS allow four candidates on it, and the published minimum is 7 hours for one operator and 14 for two, so a pair cannot be finished inside a single day. We will ask for evidence of the experience, usually an employer reference or a work record, before we put someone on it.

NPORS courses are priced per course, not per person. What you are paying for is the instructor, the registered tester and the machine time, so the figure turns on four things: the category, which route your operators need (novice, experienced, conversion or refresher), how many people are coming, and whether we run it on your site or at one of ours. It is also why a squad works out considerably cheaper per head than sending operators out one at a time. Use the course builder on this page: tell it who is coming and it works out how many days the course takes and how many times it has to run, which is what the price is built from. Then ask us and you will get a figure for that exact group rather than a list price with conditions attached.

We run NPORS courses across the UK rather than out of one fixed centre, and for most categories the better answer is that we come to you: your operators are assessed on the machine they will be using anyway, nobody loses a day travelling, and for a group it costs less. If you would rather come to us, we have centres at Trent House in Stoke, Pride Park in Derby, Europa House in Manchester and Kingsway House in Liverpool. Tell us where the work is and we will say honestly which way round makes more sense.

There is no fixed timetable to wait for. NPORS courses here are run to order, which means the dates are built around your programme rather than ours, and a single operator or a full squad can normally be booked in within a couple of weeks. If you have a card about to expire or a start date to hit, say so when you enquire and we will work to it.