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Arco Receives Accreditation to Begin Delivering GWO Courses

21 June 2022

Arco Professional Safety Services has been accredited by the Global Wind Organisation to deliver its suite of basic safety training (BST) qualifications at its safety centres in Linlithgow, Scotland, and Stafford, England.

The onshore wind turbine industry is a growing sector within the UK energy market and generated around 24% of the country's electricity in 2020 with Scotland championing the industry where wind alone generated 73% of all renewable electricity output.

The UK currently hosts an estimated 8,600 onshore wind turbines with this capacity expected to double by 2030 in order to meet the target of having all of the UK's energy generated from "clean sources" by 2035. Approximately 39,000 people in the UK undertook GWO courses in 2019 and, with more turbines being built every year, the sector continues to grow while the workforce expands.

As a non-profit body, founded by leading wind turbine manufacturers and operators, the GWO sets the international standard for training qualifications required by those working in the wind industry in the UK. The objective of the GWO is to support common industry training standards for health and safety that have been developed in cooperation between members of GWO and a variety of other stakeholders from the wind turbine industry.

Arco Professional Safety Services provides training and accreditation for the GWO BST Onshore course package, which includes the GWO Working at Height, GWO Manual Handling, GWO First Aid and GWO Fire Awareness modules. After completing the course, the qualifications are valid for two years before workers need to be recertified.

Steve Dawson, Manager – Working at Height Training at Arco Professional Safety Services, said:

"As experts in safety, Arco Professional Safety Services is delighted to have received accreditation from the Global Wind Organisation and to be able to offer customers the full suite of onshore BST qualifications.

"In addition to our GWO BST Onshore training offer, Arco, as the UK's only integrated services and safety products business, is also able to offer additional products and capabilities which other training providers can't, such as fall protection equipment, rescue equipment, IRATA training (rope access), workwear, respiratory protection services and musculoskeletal disorder management, making Arco the expert safety partner of choice for those businesses and staff working in the wind industry."

Spaces are available for courses at Linlithgow Safety Centre, from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th August, and Stafford Safety Centre, from Monday 12th to Thursday 15th September.

To book your place, visit: Arco Safety Services - Energy & Renewables