Gallowglass Launches New Training Company

Gallowglass Managing Director Nick Grecian said: “Sometime back, we developed an induction course to cover all aspects of safety on-site and to ensure the welfare of our crew. Each crew member undergoes basic training covering manual handling, risk assessment and industry knowledge. We aim to not only comply with current legislation but go beyond it, and have been steadily building on our own training expertise in recent years”.

In 2010 the company provided the NEBOSH* National General Certificate to 14 of its crew chiefs, and PLASA* certification to six staff members. The latest move to create a dedicated training company, sees Gallowglass sharing its experience and offering courses to external companies’ staff as well.

Heading up Gallowglass Training is the Gallowglass group’s Head of Human Resources, Chris Parry-Jones. She said: “Training is not only about ticking the boxes that allow your staff to undertake their roles and satisfy your insurance company’s requirements.  We also focus on ‘behavioural change’ - which can be a more complex task. In an increasingly qualification-based environment, there’s a need to be proactive in developing staff to ensure that not only their legal but also their moral obligations are met.”

Among the externally-accredited courses offered by Gallowglass Training are the Safety Pass Alliance (SPA) Passport for the Live Events Business and SPA Supervisor’s Course; also the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Level 2 Award in Manual Handling and Level 2 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work.

The company is also happy to provide bespoke training courses to meet specific client needs, and in addition to offering its own West London premises for centralised courses, will be able to deliver group training at clients’ premises if required.

Also in 2010, Gallowglass partnered Steve Kearney, one of the event industry’s leading chartered health and safety consultants, to create a new company, Gallowglass Health & Safety.

Operating as an entirely separate entity from the Gallowglass crewing operation GGH&S was set up to provide support, advice and training on health and safety management, on stage, in-studio and on location.
Added Nick Grecian: “We’re finding that production managers are now a lot keener to think about and minimise risk.  And they are discovering that well-trained crews observing correct Health and Safety discipline actually improve operational efficiency as well.”