Training and Other Services
As well as our certification portfolio, the Soil Association Certification Forestry team develop training and partnership initiatives with a view to growing sustainable forest practices at every level.
We provide a range of forest certification training services targeted at relevant professionals. So, whether you are a trainee auditor, a current - or future - certificate holder, a certification consultant or researcher, or just someone working for an organisation that has an interest in forest certification (e.g. an NGO), we have an option designed for you.
Using our experience and expertise as an FSC® and PEFCTM certification body, we employ many expert assessors to provide the right training for you based on our work with hundreds of current certificate holders around the world, along with our deep understanding of the FSC and PEFC systems and standards.
We offer a training approach that is specifically suited to your needs. Typically, our courses are blended in nature, consisting of both e-learning and in-person training. However, there are options to select one or the other, depending on what will work best for you - for example:
Using our online learning management system, we can cost effectively provide refresher training and assessments to large numbers simultaneously. Alternatively, we can provide in-person training for groups of 5-20, lasting between 1 and 5 days, depending on your specific requirements.
As well as the ability to provide a package to suit your needs in a location that works for you, our FSC training courses have been approved by Assurance Services International (ASI), so we are an approved provider of FSC training courses in line with FSC® PRO 20-004 (General Requirements for an FSC Training Programme). Those who select and successfully complete the full FSC Auditing to ISO 19011, Forest Management or Chain of Custody courses will receive a valid training certificate as a crucial step towards becoming a qualified FSC auditor. These courses will also be of interest to certificate holders and other providers of certification services.
In addition to our FSC and PEFC forest certification courses, we also offer an innovative course on Responsible Forest Management and Sustainable Forest Product Supply Chains, available to participants from a worldwide audience. It takes place over 2 weeks at Shuttleworth House and Woodlands in Bedfordshire, as both a residential and non-residential programme.
If you’d like to learn more about our courses or for all training course registrations, questions, and applications for bursaries, please contact our Course Director, Clive Thomas: forestrytraining@soilassociation.org.
All of our training is also fully compliant with our independence as FSC and PEFC service providers. This means that, whilst our courses are based on our longstanding expertise as a certification body, we cannot advise on specific certification requirements for your organisation.
