Competence can be described as ‘the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely’.

It is the duty of the employer to maintain a sufficiently skilled and competent workforce. This can be satisfied in a number of ways through training, continuous professional development (CPD), assessment and reassessment.

Skill fade can be defined as ‘the decay of ability or adeptness over a period of non-use’ and is more prominent in tasks or activities that are more complex and less predictable. Unfortunately, the role of emergency first responder involves combining first aid and rescue which can be complicated and unpredictable, if not well - managed. Skill fade in the wind industry is something the TRS team has seen first-hand, having trained thousands of technicians in basic to advanced level courses.

Employers need to establish appropriate training content and frequency to maintain competence in the technician’s secondary role of emergency first responder. The adequacy of this training will come under scrutiny during an accident investigation.

The team at TRS have developed an industry leading CPD programme to meet the needs of the emergency responder role within the wind industry. It combines online theoretical modules with practical modules and includes on-turbine medical rescue scenarios to improve familiarisation with the Emergency Response Plan and to maintain workforce competence.

Our unique, industry - leading, bespoke CPD programme will provide peace of mind that technicians will achieve the best possible outcome in the event of an emergency.

To find out how this will work for your company, please contact us for an honest discussion.