NPORS Skidsteer Loader Training (N212)

A compact rigid frame loader that steers by driving one side faster than the other, wheeled or tracked, with lift arms at the front and a quick coupler for attachments. If the machine articulates in the middle it is a loading shovel and the category is different, and we will say so rather than issue the wrong card.

The novice length follows the NPORS scheme of works minimum hours for the number of operators on the course, which is why we confirm it when we quote rather than print one figure. An operator already running the machine takes the shorter test focused route, where NPORS allow six candidates, and the refresher is shorter again.

Because the only way into the seat is over the attachment, and people have been crushed doing it. The routine is the same every time: arms down, attachment flat on the ground, three points of contact, restraint engaged before anything moves. It gets drilled until it is automatic.

Yes. Fitting and removing attachments, proving the coupling has locked, and understanding what each one does to the machine's balance and capacity are part of the course. Tell us which ones your operators use and the practical is built around them.

No. The NPORS category has to match the machine. Experience on other plant helps a great deal and often puts somebody onto the shorter route, but it is still a separate category and a site checking cards will treat it that way.

Yes, and it is usually better. Operators train on the machine and the ground they actually work, and nobody loses days travelling. We need a suitable area for the practical and a machine in a testable condition, which we check before we come.

The Red Trained Operator card, which NPORS issue for two years, or the Blue Competent Operator card valid five years where the operator holds the relevant NVQ. The CSCS logo version of either needs a current CITB Health, Safety and Environment test.

Three on the novice course and the refresher, six on the experienced worker test. The group size also changes the minimum hours the scheme of works sets, so it changes the length as well as the price.

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.