Professional users have no choice but to be trained and certified in all aspects of chainsaw use. The legislation regarding farmer or even hobby use of chainsaws for own use is at best grey, if existing at all. Ultimately, there is little to compel either group of users to engage in any kind of chainsaw training.

The dangers of a chainsaw are well known but that’s not enough to make every chainsaw user partake in even a basic course. Chainsaw maintenance could be studied as part of a basic course. The amount of people who cannot sharpen a chain correctly, but would like to learn the skill, is a good draw for any course.

There are options for many who want some form of chainsaw training and certification. These include private companies, such as Coillte and Farm Relief Services (FRS) Training Services. FRS Training perhaps understands farmers’ needs more than many and is among the best equipped to accommodate and train them.

On offer from FRS Training are two courses aimed at farmers. One is an FRS accredited one-day course with an FRS certificate at the end. The other run by FRS is a QQI-accredited Level 5 course. The course duration is 50 hours; 15 hours (two days) of this is tutor-led with practice in between the two tutor-led days.

Jim Dockery, training manager with FRS Training, says: “Anybody operating a piece of machinery, whether it’s a chainsaw or a forklift, should be trained how to use it properly.”

Understanding a chainsaw and its safe use is a fundamental part of FRS courses, so there is both a classroom and practical element to the training. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is also covered in each course and is an integral element of safe chainsaw training and use.

“Fostering awareness on all aspects of a chainsaw is an important part of the courses,” explains Jim. For example, “many don’t know the difference between safety chain and non-safety chain, or if it is fitted to their own saw. It becomes obvious when it’s pointed out on the course but without training, many wouldn’t know,” he adds.

The ideal training scenario is that trainees bring the saw they are familiar with, which is generally their own saw. Jim adds that even if the saw is not running, they can bring it to see how everything is done correctly. If they don’t have a saw on the day, Jim says they usually have two or three spares for participants to train on.

“We encourage farmers to bring their own chainsaws and we show them how to maintain them,” explains Jim. Participants are shown how to change a spark plug, clean the air filter, clean the bar and make sure the chain is oiling correctly, and sharpen the chain correctly.

There is some saw work done on both courses, but no tree-felling.

There is a lot to learn about a chainsaw. Jim says: “At the end of the day, course participants will bring away their saw which is ready for work and they will know how to use it correctly.”

Both training courses are available throughout the country and are run whenever there are enough people to fill a course. It costs €80 for the one-day course with FRS certification and €150 for the QQI-accredited Level 5 chainsaw course.

For more information and to book your place on a course, contact 1890-201000 or www.frstraining.com.