Arco advises telecoms sector on new rooftop safety training

By Simon Bristow

Hull-based safety company Arco is advising businesses that operate within the telecoms industry to ensure all workers are trained in accordance with the new Rooftop Worker Safety & Access Scheme set out by the Energy and Utility Skills Register (EUSR).

The EUSR has released a new training qualification, the Rooftop Worker Safety & Access Scheme, consisting of 15 units and containing both theoretical and practical assessed elements. The scheme recognises the knowledge and skills required to access flat roofs with a variety of personal fall protections systems.

The new scheme has been developed in collaboration with the Mast & Tower Safety Group (MATS), which consists of organisations that own or manage masts and towers where there are specific and significant work at height and occupational radio frequency hazards. 

Although designed for anyone wanting to work safely at height and understand the dangers of working on rooftops, the scheme will become the recognised qualification for those working on telecommunication infrastructure, with leading telecoms companies stating that completing the scheme is now mandatory to work on their sites.

New training or refresher training, since January 1, 2023, must now be completed to the new EUSR syllabus and conducted by an EUSR-accredited training provider. Certificates attained prior to this date will remain valid until they expire, including the Arqiva Rooftop Worker training, meaning that January 1, 2026, will mark the first time that the only certification in use across the industry will be the new scheme.

According to the Health & Safety Executive, a total of 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in 2021/22, with falls from a height being the biggest contributor, accounting for 24 per cent of these (29 people).

As experts in safety, Arco is encouraging businesses that work in the telecoms industry to take note of the new scheme and to ensure their staff receive the correct training to best protect those working at height.

Steve Dawson, manager of working at height training at Arco Professional Safety Services, said: “Falling from height is still one of the most common work-related accidents and is proportionally the largest contributor of work-related deaths, therefore it is vitally important that those who work at height receive the proper training and are undertaking their work in compliance with the necessary regulations and are adhering to industry best practice.

“As experts in safety, we are pleased to announce that we have become an approved provider of the EUSR (MATS) Rooftop Worker Safety & Access Scheme, with the training becoming an integral part of our course portfolio to help keep workers safe. Furthermore, we will be offering this training scheme at our new, state-of-the-art training facility in Bracknell, Berkshire.”

Arco Professional Safety Services offers the one-day Rooftop Worker Safety & Access Scheme course at its safety training centres in Linlithgow (Edinburgh), Trafford Park (Manchester), Eccleshall (Stafford) and Bracknell (Berkshire). More information about the training is available here.