Choosing a Reputable Online Training Provider
Before you buy any training, please do some research on your prospective training provider. You will notice on the internet today that many companies advertise their training as being OSHA accepted or approved. As a matter of policy, OSHA does not approve nor endorse training programs from any training provider. We did some research ourselves and noticed many of the online training providers simply published a website but are not businesses. They resell training and may not have qualified instructors at the ready for assistance. Also, some new clients sent us certificates from these companies as they were looking to upgrade their training. These certificates were not signed by the instructor but by the student. This cleary does not agree with the OSHA regulations where the instructor and employer will certify an individual. These companies offer their training at substantially reduced prices but their training and certificates do not fullfill the OSHA regulation. Yep, there is the catch. You generally get what you pay for in this world.
Here are a few tips in checking out your prospective training provider.
1. Client list. Do they show a list of clients? If not, they should as any reputable company is proud to show you who they have trained. We have trained officials with OSHA, EPA, Coast Guard, NOAA, Department of Homeland Security, Fortune 50 and 500 companies and many others. You can be assured that our training and certificates are valid.
2. OSHA interpretation letters. Have they contacted OSHA for interpretations regarding their course offerings? We have and OSHA has accepted our HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator. (Please see the discussion on the HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator).
3. Instructor qualifications. A qualified instructor should have several years experience in the field as well as an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited university. A professional designation is also a plus. Our instructors have graduate degrees in the field of Hazardous and Waste Materials Management, and Environmental Engineering. They also hold professional designations and have many years experience in the field.
4. Certificates. Make sure your certificate is signed by the actual instructor. A certificate that requires you sign the certificate instead of the instructor is not consistent with the OSHA regulations. Your certificate from us will be signed by a qualified instructor.
5. Course Duration. OSHA requires the 40 hour HAZWOPER course will take a minimum of 40 hours of actual study time. Anything less will not comply with the OSHA standard. This is true for both classroom and online training. Classroom training cannot exceed the OSHA required 30:1 student to instructor ratio. Our courses are timed and allow the freedom to login and logout on your own schedule to accrue the regulatory required study time.
If you have any questions, please call us at 888.877.7130. You can also email us at cab@natlenvtrainers.com.
OSHA Accepts our HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator®
In an interpretation letter dated February 4, 2009 OSHA stated that our exclusive HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator® is acceptable when used in conjunction with site specific training. Site specific hands-on training on the actual equipment an employee will be using is required for both online training and public seminar (open enrollment) classroom training. (If you thought you met the OSHA requirements by sending your employees offsite to a public seminar training class, please read the detailed explanation below). Employers can now train their employees online for the 40 or 24 hour HAZWOPER courses and then conduct site specific hands-on training on the actual equipment an employee will be using in their job.
