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Confined Space Training

Plan, prepare and train to work safely in confined spaces

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City & Guilds Accreditation
Training Tunnels Equipment Training Tunnels
People trained (25,000) - 25,000 trained in last 12 months 25,000+ Trained Each Year
Manuals included Manuals Included
Breathing Apparatus Use (Long Duration Breathing Apparatus) Long Duration Breathing Apparatus

Not sure if you have a Confined space? Take the test.

Courses available

Frequently Asked Questions

Our confined space courses are accredited and certified by City & Guilds. We work closely with City & Guilds to create the qualifications for confined spaces – including the standards for confined space entry and rescue.

This accreditation means we are subject to annual audits by the awarding body for each accredited course we offer.

We own and maintain all the equipment used in our courses, ensuring it meets our high standards — we only use equipment we trust and would use ourselves. Participants in our confined space training courses will have hands-on experience with a variety of equipment. Depending on the course, this may include man-riding hoists, escape breathing apparatus, and auxiliary ventilation, among others.

We also sell the equipment we use as part of training – to find out more, contact us.

According to the regulations, a specified risk can be:

  • Injury caused by fire or explosion
  • Loss of consciousness caused by an increase in body temperature
  • Loss of consciousness or asphyxiation caused by gas, fume, vapour or lack of oxygen
  • Drowning
  • Asphyxiation cased by a free flowing solid or the inability to reach safety due to entrapment by a free flowing solid

It should be noted that the specified risk may not always be there – it may be introduced by the nature of the work, i.e. cutting, welding, spray painting.

According to the Confined Spaces Regulation 1997, a confined space is defined as a ‘space in which, by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably foreseeable specified risk’.

Common confined spaces include:

  • Sewers
  • Tanks
  • Vats
  • Silos
  • Tunnels
  • Wells

A confined space is not necessarily an area you have to ‘squeeze’ into – or a space in which you must crawl around on your hands and knees. Some confined spaces may be harder to identify, as they are not enclosed on all sides or may be very large, like a ship’s hold. 

If you’re trying to determine if a space is a confined space or not – consider the work to take place in that area, and whether the work increases the risk of serious personal injury from hazardous substances or conditions within the space or nearby.

When work must be carried out in a confined space, a safe system of work which identifies the hazards, the risks and the control measures must be created. The purpose of this is to ensure the work can be controlled and undertaken with an acceptable level of risk.

Furthermore, if you require employees to enter a confined space, you must prepare suitable and sufficient arrangements for their rescue. Very importantly, this is required even if the emergency is not brought about by a specified risk. Your rescue arrangements need to ensure you are protecting the rescuers and, where necessary, include resuscitation equipment.

Working in a confined space will always have an element of risk, but these risks can be controlled to make the risks acceptable. The risks and controls need to be understood by all who work in confined spaces.

If you are unsure and would like a site visit so our confined space experts can assess your spaces and advise on how to ensure the safety of your workforce, get in touch.

If you need support in identifying confined spaces – or understanding what training your employees need to be compliant, we can help. Our specialist consultancy team provides a full range of services – all of which are compliance guaranteed.

The services we can provide include confined space surveys and audits, training consultancy, expert accident and incident analysis, managing confined spaces support and emergency rescue and response services.

Working in confined spaces has resulted in fatalities and injuries across a variety of industries. To try and reduce this, the Confined Space Regulations 1997 were introduced.

There is a requirement under both the Health & Safety at Work Act and the Confined Space Regulations, to ensure people are trained and competent to carry out the planned work activities. The objective of any training is to reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities.

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Proud to be rated 5 stars from 1938 reviews

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Mia Wheeler
3 days ago
Great week training for the STCW basic safety training course, Matt and Rich were excellent trainers, had a great time, definitely recommend 👍🏽
Lloyd Batstone
3 days ago
I have completed two GWO courses here ART and AFA and highly recommend anyone looking to recert or new to attend here for any GWO course, location, staff and facilities faultless. Teaching element is great lots of hands on. I will be booking any further courses required through MRSTA
Susan Russell
3 days ago
Amy was great at doing the course and lunch was nice, vending machine not good at tea
John Southcombe
4 days ago
Great facility, good set up Friendly knowledgeable tutors, enjoyed the course. Good practical demonstrations
Jay Trickey
5 days ago
Good pace, very knowledgeable and engaging with a good mix of theory and practical work.