Flexilift Australia offers the market accredited forklift training.

Anyone undergoing forklift training in New South Wales as of 1 September must be enrolled with a training organisation registered by VETAB (Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board) as well as Workcover.

The new system, which was implemented in Queensland in 2007, has significant cost implications for training organisations and means that licence assessment alone is no longer permitted.

Many people are still unaware of the new system, says specialist forklift trainer Todd Brennan of Forkpro Australia, an independent registered training organisation (RTO).

He tells Forkliftaction.com News that many people in New South Wales are operating forklifts illegally, unaware of the new legislation. From 1 September, it is illegal to operate any 'scheduled' equipment such as forklifts and order pickers without first enrolling in an approved course of training with an RTO.

"In some cases people are still operating using only logbooks when, in fact, all trainees must be enrolled with an RTO in the first instance."

This will become an issue in Victoria next year as well, predicts Brennan, as the same system will kick in by 1 July 2010.

"Queensland undertook the new system in 2007, New South Wales has just switched over and Victoria chose to defer it for another year." ACT has also announced that it is phasing it in from the middle of next year.

Among those offering training in Victoria is Hyundai distributor Flexilift Australia which offers the market accredited forklift training at its premises.

When asked his thoughts about manufacturers and distributors getting involved with training, Brennan commented that many of the manufacturers offer training in some form and, in most cases, forklift training offered by manufacturers and distributors in Australia is of a high standard. "They usually have significant resources to set up their training premises and (have) better access to equipment."

The two- to three-day course at Flexilift, run by an accredited forklift trainer, takes place on site at the company and applicants have the opportunity to train on basic two ton forklift models as well as gaining experience using a narrow-aisle articulated forklift.

"It's pretty rare for a forklift company to be able to offer training on a narrow-articulated forklift and it's more than one would experience through TAFE or at a registered training organisation (RTO)," says sales and marketing manager John Fisher.

He tells Forkliftaction.com News that the course covers workplace health and safety issues, forklift usage, pre-safety forklift checks, safe forklift driving checks, and pre-exam preparation (theory and practical) to ensure operators are trained and licensed within national WorkSafe standards.

"One would assume all workplaces strive for safety first, and our forklift training programs focus on safe and efficient materials handling methods," he says.