The Association of Industrial Truck Trainers has launched a major initiative to improve the standards of its training organisations with the introduction of a brand new level of accreditation: AITT Excellence.
The announcement was made at AITT’s Annual General Meeting during IMHX 2019.
“We believe that the new level of accreditation will ensure our instructors are working to unrivalled standards and are, demonstrably, the best in the industry,” explained Adam Smith, Managing Director of AITT.
“Over the last 12 months we have discussed ways to enhance the quality of what the training providers deliver. We have decided to update the Category 2/3 accreditation in terms of how it looks and what it will mean for our customers.
“All current AITT training providers will be issued with a new badge of honour that they can display with pride at their achievement in becoming an AITT training provider. This badge will be now known as ‘Standard’ accreditation and can be used on certificates, websites, display plaques etc.
“To achieve it, training providers will need to meet the high requirements of an AITT audit and should be proud of their achievement in doing so.”
However, training providers that go above and beyond the normal industry requirements can earn the status of AITT Excellence by meeting exacting criteria and satisfying additional AITT checks during their audit.
“To comply, the provider must operate a dedicated training centre and run an internal and external monitoring scheme for their instructors,” said Adam.
“Importantly, they must also implement an annual audit of instructors using AITT documentation We believe this is fundamental to maintaining the highest levels of quality and competence.
“They should also be actively promoting and registering AITT accredited training via our ACORNS database. In addition, providers must have undergone at least two audits prior to the annual visit, without sanctions.”
Training providers need to supply evidence of their actions, and a decision is made on completion of the audit.
Adam concluded: “We want to offer the best possible operator and instructor training to the industry. Our members already provide outstanding services, but now they can aspire to AITT Excellence, and this motivation to improve will ultimately benefit their customers and their business in the long-term.”
