Channel Islands courses are delivered by approved centre CSRT UK Limited

We help Channel Islands employers work safely in confined spaces, from training and rescue provision to bespoke course design and consultancy, built around your island minimum standards and the UK regulations, ACOPs and guidance that underpin them.

Who are CSRTA?

We are a standards body and training network built around confined space and rescue safety. CSRTA sets an evidence based methodology for confined space identification, categorisation, rescue arrangements and competence verification. We deliver that methodology through our own qualification pathway and a network of approved training centres, and we support employers directly with rescue provision and consultancy.

The Confined Space and Rescue Trade Association is committed to raising standards across the Channel Islands. We work with island employers to lift confined space and rescue practice above the minimum, building competence that is current, evidenced and defensible, so that the way work is done on the islands keeps pace with the best of the mainland framework it benchmarks against.

We are not a regulated awarding organisation, and we never claim to be. What we offer is a clear, defensible standard, practical training delivered only by approved instructors, and honest advice that distinguishes between what the law requires, what an Approved Code of Practice or guidance recommends, and where a decision is a matter of professional judgement. That discipline is the reason our documentation stands up to scrutiny, and it is what we bring to every island client.

Every CSRTA course is delivered by an approved instructor. Our instructors are selected for extensive hands on industry experience, and for a genuine understanding of training and assessment and of the quality assurance that keeps a standard consistent. That combination means delegates learn from people who have done the work, and that what they are taught is verifiable and defensible.

How the Channel Islands standards work, and how UK requirements underpin them.

Neither island has confined space specific legislation. In both, the general duty to work safely is met by benchmarking against the UK framework. Getting this relationship right is the foundation of a defensible confined space regime, and it is where we start with every client.

Jersey

Confined space work is covered by the general duties of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989.

• The Government of Jersey manages the risk through its Confined Spaces Minimum Standard, which departments must meet or exceed.
• That standard adopts the UK statutory definition of a confined space and the five specified risks, and directs duty holders to UK HSE guidance.
• Permits to work are used, supported by the GoJ Permit to Work Minimum Standard.
• Rescue provision must be suitable and sufficient, and made before entry.

Guernsey

Duties arise under the Health and Safety at Work (General) (Guernsey) Ordinance 1987, made under the 1979 Law.

• Where Guernsey legislation is silent on a topic, HSE Guernsey applies UK legislation, ACOPs and guidance as the appropriate standard to benchmark compliance.
• Confined space work has no dedicated Guernsey ordinance, so the UK framework is the recognised benchmark.
• Following HSE guidance or industry best practice is how employers demonstrate compliance.
• Rescue provision is expected to reflect that same benchmarked standard.

Both islands lead back to the same UK reference points: the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, the Approved Code of Practice and guidance in L101, and supporting HSE guidance such as INDG258. We design every course and rescue plan against your island standard first, then show the UK regulation, ACOP or guidance that sits behind it, so your arrangements are consistent, current and defensible to an inspector on either island.

What we offer

Everything from a single course to a complete confined space regime.

Whether you need one team trained, a rescue capability stood up, or a full review of how your organisation manages confined spaces, we can help across the whole picture.

• Confined space courses (Training)  - Low, medium and high risk confined space training, from entry and safe working to working on breathing apparatus, delivered to your island standard with the UK basis made clear throughout.
  
  
• Rescue courses (Rescue)  - Confined space rescue training covering casualty recovery, rope rescue, breathing apparatus and the rescue arrangements that a compliant entry depends on.
  
  
• CPD for every aspect (Ongoing competence) - Continuing professional development across all aspects of confined space work, so competence is maintained and evidenced between qualifications, not just gained once.
  
  
• Rescue arrangements (Provision) - Practical help to establish suitable, sufficient and immediate rescue arrangements for your specific spaces, including planning, equipment selection and standby rescue where needed.
  
  
• Consultancy (Advisory) - Independent review and advice on confined space identification, categorisation, risk assessment, safe systems of work, permits and emergency planning, aligned to your island standard.
  
  
• Bespoke course design (Tailored) - Courses written around your sites, your hazards and your workforce, mapped to recognised standards and to the way your teams actually work.

The VRTO pathway

A structured route from first response to rescue team management.

Our rescue qualifications form the CSRTA VRTO pathway, a progressive route that runs from recognising an emergency, through operating and leading a rescue team, to managing rescue arrangements across an organisation. It gives island employers a clear, recordable way to build and evidence rescue competence in stages, rather than treating every course as a standalone event.

• VRTO1, Verified Rescue Team Operator Level 1 - An entry level rescue qualification covering the fundamental skills required to work safely as part of a confined space rescue team under the direction of a team leader.
  
  
• VRTO2, Verified Rescue Team Operator Level 2 - An advanced rescue operator qualification for personnel dealing with more complex confined space environments, rescue techniques and casualty extraction arrangements.
  
  
• VRTL, Verified Rescue Team Leader - Develops the competence required to lead a confined space rescue team, assess the incident, allocate roles, brief personnel, maintain communications and coordinate the rescue operation.
  
  
• VRTM, Verified Rescue Team Manager - Covers the planning, management and review of confined space rescue arrangements, including team competence, resources, equipment, procedures, operational readiness and organisational assurance.
  
  
• CSFR, Confined Space First Responder - Provides workers with the knowledge, understanding and practical skills to provide pre hospital emergency care to those who have been injured or have become ill within a confined space. CSFR is equivalent to the Level E PHEM descriptors and is currently undergoing accreditation approval by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

How does the pathway help you?

Because the qualifications are sequenced and recordable, you can see exactly where each person sits, what they are competent to do, and what comes next. From a first responder who can hold a situation safely, to operators, to a team leader, to a manager assuring the whole arrangement, the pathway lets you build and maintain a capable rescue capability from within your own workforce. We will help you choose the right entry point for each member of your team and plan their route through.

CSAR, Confined Space All Risks (flagship programme)

A single, comprehensive programme that takes someone from no prior knowledge through to rescue arrangements. CSAR covers the full picture of confined space work in one structured course, so an employer can build genuine end to end capability rather than assembling it from separate pieces.

Built on our evidence based six stage method, CSAR moves from identifying and categorising a confined space, through the controls, equipment and safe systems of work, into casualty care and rescue, and finishes with the rescue arrangements that every compliant entry depends on. It is delivered to your island standard, with the UK regulations, ACOP and guidance made clear at each stage, and mapped to recognised national occupational standards.

Ask about CSAR - email us on admin@csrta.org

The programme journey:

1. No prior knowledge - Legal and hazard framework, and how a confined space is identified and categorised.
2. Controls and safe systems - Risk assessment, permits, atmosphere testing, ventilation and isolation.
3. Equipment and entry - Access, RPE and breathing apparatus across the medium and high risk levels.
4. Casualty care and rescue - Recovery techniques, rope rescue and handling a casualty from the space.
5. Rescue arrangements - Suitable, sufficient and immediate arrangements, planned before any entry.

Bespoke courses for island employers

Training written for your sites, not adapted from someone else's.

Off the shelf training rarely matches the reality of a specific site. We write bespoke confined space and rescue courses for Jersey and Guernsey companies, grounded in your actual spaces, hazards and access, and mapped to the standards that matter. Here is how a bespoke course comes together.

1. Understand your sites - We look at your confined spaces, their hazards, access and the tasks your teams carry out, and confirm how they should be identified and categorised.
2. Anchor to the standards - We map the course to your island minimum standard and the UK regulations, ACOP and guidance behind it, so the content is accurate and defensible.
3. Build the course - We design the theory, practical exercises and assessment around your operations, including rescue arrangements specific to your spaces.
4. Deliver and evidence - We deliver on your site or ours, with clear records of competence, so you can show a trained, capable and assessed workforce.

Rescue arrangements

No entry should take place without a rescue arrangement that can be put into operation immediately.

Rescue is not an afterthought to a confined space entry, it is a precondition of it. On both islands, and under the UK framework they benchmark against, arrangements for rescue must be made before anyone enters, must be sufficient for the space and its hazards, and must protect the rescuers as well as the casualty.

We help you get this right in practice, from writing site specific rescue plans and selecting equipment, to training your own team, to providing standby rescue cover where your risk assessment calls for it. And we are clear about one thing that is often misunderstood: calling the public emergency services alone does not satisfy the duty to make rescue arrangements.

**Suitable, sufficient and immediate.** The standard for rescue arrangements is not merely prompt or timely. It is the ability to begin an effective rescue without delay, with the right people and the right equipment, prepared before entry.

Our commitment to the islands

Why Channel Islands employers work with us.

We are not a mainland provider passing through. We commit to understanding how safety is regulated in Jersey and Guernsey specifically, and to holding a standard that is both practical on your sites and defensible to your regulator.

• Island first, UK anchored - Every course, plan and piece of advice starts from your island standard and shows the UK regulation, ACOP or guidance that supports it. No guesswork, no blurred lines.
  
  
• Evidence based, plainly stated - We separate what the law requires from what guidance recommends and what is professional judgement. Where something is uncertain, we say so, so you can make informed decisions.
  
  
• Competence you can demonstrate - Training is only worthwhile if it produces capability you can evidence. Our approach is built around recordable, verifiable competence, not attendance alone.

Talk to us

Tell us about your confined spaces, and we will tell you how we can help.

Whether you are in Jersey or Guernsey, a first conversation is straightforward and without obligation. We will listen to what you need, explain the standards that apply, and set out the options.

Prefer to talk first?

Get in touch and we will arrange a call at a time that suits your team, on island or remotely.

Email us on admin@csrta.org or call +44 (0)7474 670661

disclaimer:

CSRTA delivers training through its own pathway and network of approved training centres. CSRTA is not a regulated awarding organisation. References to Jersey and Guernsey standards and to UK regulations, ACOPs and guidance are provided to explain the framework; duty holders remain responsible for compliance on their own sites.