TomP this is the one that was in cyber space. Sorry I took so long to get back in touch. I've seen a few posts on here explaining the quals required. When I did mine in 1998 you only needed D32/33, shadow the courses then start looking for someone to give you that first chance to get on the ladder. Now you need to do the A units (Assessors Units) for Assessing, Teaching qual the KETTLES NETTLES & PETTLS etc. To get your-self a little more credibility you might want to think about gaining some quals in safety, eg NEBOSH, you will need a little more than the IOSH managing safety qual. If you get in touch with your local college, they will be able to provide the assessing and teaching quals, but in the current economic climate the training companies are reluctant to take new instructors on. Scaffolding training is the biggest earner of all the training done by the CITB, but they are governed by other awarding bodies and now to work for them you have to be CRB checked. It took more than 100 days to get mine and I lost my position.
Scaffolding is a young man’s game and a lot of lads hitting their forties are looking at training and safety as a new avenue into keeping their careers, in scaffolding going. Safety and Training are not physically hard, but when you've spent a full week with 9 part One trainee’s, who all think they know more than the instructor, believe me, you can be mentally wrecked at the end of the week, especially when you first start.
I've gained quite a good name as a trainer and generally do the Advance courses, but in saying that, a lot of companies have stopped sending their men on Advanced courses, because you don't need to be Advance to do house bashing.
This all costs a lot of money to do the training, but if you have a look at Working Links, they can help with funding regarding training, don't go to the dole for assistance, they'll tell you there's no funding, there a waste of time, but if you direct to working links they might help to pay for your training. You can also get reduced rates though your tax credits. Hope this help, all the best John
Thats me finished for the night, good night.