Our courses are designed to equip people at all levels with the necessary skills to minimise incidents in the workplace.
Working at Heights Training
Working at heights training gives your employees the knowledge, skills and practical judgement to work in elevated positions safely, and gives your business documented evidence of competence for the work being done. Falls from height remain one of the most serious hazards in South African workplaces, and one of the areas where employers carry the clearest duty of care under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993.
National Occupational Safety & Health Consultancy delivers accredited heights and safety training to companies across South Africa, at your premises or at a venue that suits your operation. Our working at heights course is aligned to the outcomes of Unit Standard 120362 - Monitor, report and make recommendations pertaining to specified requirements in terms of working at heights (NQF Level 3, 4 credits).
We work with registered and experienced assessors and moderators, and we have delivered health and safety training to large organisations in manufacturing, construction, mining, forestry, fishing, retail and other sectors. Training is quoted per group, so you can budget accurately before you commit.
Why businesses choose our working at heights training
Height work is high-consequence work. A single fall can trigger an injury investigation, a Department of Employment and Labour enquiry, lost production, a COIDA claim and lasting damage to your safety record. Documented, competency-based training is one of the most cost-effective controls available to you.
Employers choose us because we make compliance practical rather than theoretical. Our trainers focus on what your people actually do on site: the ladder, the scaffold, the roof edge, the harness in the store room that nobody has inspected in months.
Accredited provider: registered assessors and moderatorsAligned to your legal duties: content built around employer and employee obligations under the OHS Act of 1993
Practical, not classroom-only training on the access equipment and PPE your teams use
On-site delivery: less travel spend and less time away from production
Group quotes: price a team, a shift or a whole site with no surprises
Nationwide coverage across South Africa's main industrial centres
Records and certification you can present during an audit or inspection
What the working at heights course covers
The course builds from the legal framework through to hands-on equipment competence, so employees understand not only how to work safely at height but why the controls exist.
Legal compliance: employer and employee duties under the OHS Act of 1993, and the site-specific requirements that apply to elevated work
Working at heights hazards: falls, dropped objects, unstable surfaces, edges and openings, adverse weather and suspension trauma
Risk assessment for height-related tasks
Fall protection plans: what they must address, and how they translate into daily work
Principles of fall arrest: fall factors, anchor points, clearance, and the difference between fall restraint and fall arrest
PPE for working at height: harnesses, lanyards, connectors and lifelines, and their correct selection, fitment and use
Equipment inspection, care and storage including identifying faulty fall arrest equipment and removing it from service
Working platforms, ladders, scaffolds and walkways: safe use and pre-use inspection
Reporting and record keeping: reporting deviations from standard, following up on identified issues, and maintaining defensible records
Course delivery includes video presentations along with theoretical and practical assessment, so competence is demonstrated rather than assumed.
Unit standard outcomes and course level
The course content is aligned to the outcomes of the SAQA unit standard below, which sits in the Health Sciences and Social Services field (Preventive Health subfield) and is associated with national qualifications in Construction Health and Safety and Occupational Hygiene and Safety.
Unit Standard 120362 — Monitor, report and make recommendations pertaining to specified requirements in terms of working at heights NQF Level 3 | 4 Credits
The three specific outcomes are:
Describe the requirements to safely perform work in elevated positions including the planning process and the method used to carry out the work.
Describe the requirements to correctly inspect, care for and store fall arrest equipment including replacing faulty equipment and keeping accurate records.
Describe the safety, health and environmental principles for working platforms, ladders, scaffolds and walkways in elevated positions including inspection, reporting deviations from standard, follow-up procedures and record keeping.
Who this working at heights training is for
This training is aimed at employers and organisations that need to demonstrate competence for height-related work. Typical candidates within your business include:
Employees who use ladders as part of their work
Employees working on scaffolding, working platforms or walkways
Any employee who performs tasks in elevated positions
Construction supervisors and site foremen
Safety officers, SHE representatives and health and safety committee members
Maintenance, engineering and technical teams working on plant, roofs or elevated structures
On-site working at heights training for companies
For most companies, on-site delivery is the practical option. We bring the training to your premises, which keeps travel and accommodation costs down, keeps your team on site, and lets us work with the structures, access equipment and PPE your people use every day.
On-site training also lets us align the content with your existing fall protection plan, risk assessments and equipment inspection registers, so the training reinforces your systems instead of sitting alongside them. We can schedule around shift patterns, shutdowns and quieter production periods to limit disruption, and train multiple groups on consecutive days for larger sites. Where on-site delivery is not practical, we will arrange a suitable alternative venue.
Working at heights training locations
We provide working at heights training nationally across South Africa. If you operate across multiple sites or provinces, we can quote on a consolidated national roll-out so that training standards, assessment and record keeping stay consistent across your business.
Need working at heights training for your staff or site?
Send us three things and we will come back with a quote and a proposed schedule:
How many employees need training
Where your sites are located
What kind of height work they do
On-site training is available nationwide, and group pricing applies. We can also carry out an OHS compliance survey with practical recommendations if you would like a broader view of your health and safety position before committing to a training programme.
Yes. We are an accredited training provider and work with registered assessors and moderators. The course is aligned to the outcomes of Unit Standard 120362 (NQF Level 3, 4 credits). Successful candidates receive a certificate for working at heights that you can keep on file for audit and inspection purposes.
Yes, and it is our most requested option. On-site delivery reduces travel costs, limits time away from production, and lets us train on the actual access equipment and PPE your employees use. We schedule around your shifts and operational requirements, and can run consecutive groups for larger workforces.
Pricing is quote-based rather than fixed. Cost per candidate depends on group size, location, delivery venue and whether any additional courses are combined into the same visit. Larger groups and on-site delivery generally give the best value per employee. Send us your numbers and location and we will provide a quote.
The course covers the selection, fitment, use, inspection, care and storage of fall arrest equipment, including full-body harnesses, lanyards, connectors, anchor points and lifelines for working at height. Candidates also learn how to identify defective equipment, remove it from service and record inspections correctly.
There is no single figure that applies to every task. Wind limits should be set in your fall protection plan for the specific work being done, taking into account the task, the structure, the access equipment and the manufacturer's specifications for the equipment in use. The course covers how adverse weather and stop-work criteria are handled through risk assessment and your fall protection plan, and how employees should report unsafe conditions.
The unit standard lists communication and mathematical literacy at NQF Level 2 as learning assumed to be in place, and references emergency care and emergency-response unit standards. In practice, candidates should be able to follow the training material and demonstrate the practical requirements. Let us know about your group and we will advise on suitability and any language support needed.
