NPORS Scraper Training (N223)

A machine that cuts, carries and spreads material in one cycle: self propelled motor scrapers, single or twin engine, open bowl or elevating, and towed scrapers pulled behind a tractor or dozer. Tell us which you run, because the machine the practical is done on is the machine the card really reflects.

Because it is three jobs in one. Loading a bowl properly, hauling a very heavy machine safely at speed, and spreading to an even depth are separate skills, and NPORS publish ten days as the novice duration for the category. An operator who already has some of those skills usually does not need all ten days, which is what the experienced worker route is for.

Yes, for people already doing the work. The experienced worker route is test focused rather than taught, NPORS allow six candidates on it rather than three, and the refresher is shorter still. We will tell you honestly which route each person needs rather than default everybody to the long course.

Yes, where that is how you work. The sequence, the spacing, the signals and what each operator is responsible for are covered in the classroom and, where the site and the fleet allow, in the practical.

No. The NPORS category has to match the machine. Earthmoving experience helps a great deal and often puts somebody on the shorter route rather than the full ten days, but the scraper is its own category.

Yes, and on a course this long it makes a real difference. Operators train on your cut, your haul road and your fill, so the training transfers on the first day back rather than needing translating. We need a machine in a testable condition and an area we can work safely.

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. Larger groups get sequenced across more than one course, because the ratio is what gives each operator real seat time on an expensive machine.

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.