Hi,

Does anyone work in or has previously worked as a rigger mainly in Telecoms e.g. 2G, 3G, GPRS?

STW has never let me down in the past, so just looking for some friendly advice off-forum on training, qualifications and experiences in the industry.

hi mate i used to do it and teetoosugars (nick) still drags his ass up masts

I recruit for them and can offer some advice on training and how to go about getting into it.

In fact, if anyone has all there certs and wants a job in the North East let me know.

I used to work on that side of the company but been on the Transmission side now for several years
Have 15 years experience, rigging and management what you want to know?
I would get your CV across to some of the bigger companies if you after a job, they can offer you the training etc, most if not all of it at my current and previous place was carried out in house

Firestarter – where did you work?

Wotcha, do advanced climbing and rescuer for the railway, mainly on analogue systems but when eventually our 2.5G system gets commissioned we’ll probably be doing it.

What I will say is that the riggers we’ve had come into the railway from the business world seem to be very task driven, job done at all costs whereas on the railway it seems there is a far more safety first attitude and plan the job.

Get used to lots of driving, traipsing across boggy fields with heavy kit, get a good Goretex Romper suit, a selection of gloves and warm socks. Good sunnies and High SPF cream for summer as well.

It might be warm and calm at ground level but by focal can it be windy and cold when your at height.

Check any life polices as they maybe invalidated by regular work at height.

Minimum qual is “Basic Climber” which allows you to climb attached to the ladder in the structure. Advanced Climber lets you climb all over the structure and Rescuer lets you recover a casualty. You then get Rope access for abseiling etc and “Slinging” for lifting heavy/large or awkward shaped oblects.

Training for us takes 3 days (basic day 1)to advanced (day 2) to rescuer (day 3) at TAG in Saddleworth. This is valid for three years.

We then practice rescuing every 3 months on a variety of poles and masts across our patch (keeps the rescuing techniques fresh and also stops it needing a re-cert every year).

Oh and if you are at ground level and someone on the tower shouts “duck” NEVER look up!

iain i worked for rtm in wellingborough but worked from home in leeds and rigged mainly in scotland

lunge where in the north east ? as tbh the fire service is getting on my baps now

cheers , oh and sorry to spoil your thread op 😉

firestarter, field based, covering anywhere that could be loosely classified as “North East”. Microwave stuff, mostly upgrades but some new installs.

im in leeds my tickets will be expired now tho as i did them around 8 years ago, and i dont think my fire service stuff will count either even tho we do lots of rope rescue training and working at heights etc

i’ll have to have a look into it as they are introducing a new 96hrs on 96hrs off shift in our brigade which i dont really fancy what with small kids and childcare ;-(

Wow, never thought i’d get so many replies.

firestarter – no worries about the banter. it’s good to see. I’m based in Scotland so it would be good to chat with someone who had experience in the area. Is there plenty of work in Scotland or is travelling all over the UK/abroad expected?

Loads of good advice on here, thanks for all of the replies. I’ve got experience on the technical side on ground level, but don’t have experience of climbing on a professional basis. I’m happy to self fund some training and certs if it gets me in the door. I’m in my late twenties and i’m physically fit with about 5 years of telecom experience.

Lunge – Are you ok if I email you or drop me a mail and i’ll reply. My email is in my profile?

like i say all my rigging was done in scotland it was huge driving tho . all fun mind. good luck fella

MrGrim,
If your in Scotland and its the climbing / rigging type experience your after does it have to be telecoms?
Have you considered a linesman role on the OHL power side?
plenty of work coming off in Scotland over the next 5 years, feel free to drop me your CV I can forward it on to a few people at various companies

Thanks Iain, considering anything with a bit of height and working outside. I thought I might have some transferable skills with Telecoms.

Will brush up my C.V. and send it on. Thanks again.

MrGrim, YGM

Not much help as I’m in the property side of telecoms working for one of the main operators, but I’ve had dealings with TAG over the years (their main man Sean used to work in the company I work for still). To me they seem a first rate company for working at heights training. They may have some leads in the business.

HTH