100,000+ Complete IPAF Training in 2011

A record number of 101,457 people completed an IPAF training course in 2011. Training available from IPAF-approved centers includes operator courses for which a PAL Card (Powered Access License) is issued, and management courses for which a certificate is issued.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) issued a record 97,488 PAL Cards worldwide through its approved training centers in 2011, an increase of about 13.9% more than the 85,605 PAL Cards issued in 2010.

A valid PAL Card is proof that the cardholder has been trained to operate powered access equipment safely and effectively. PAL Cards are valid for five years and can be verified online at www.ipaf.org. IPAF’s PAL Card operator training program is certified by TÜV as conforming to ISO 18878.

Slightly more than half of all IPAF-approved training centers are now outside the United Kingdom and the Federation says that there are currently close to 400,000 valid PAL Cards in circulation.

At the end of 2011, IPAF had nearly 900 members worldwide. More than half the membership is now based outside the United Kingdom, and membership continues to grow in places such as the United States, Brazil and South East Asia.

In the US, the training program is managed by IPAF’s North American subsidiary, American Work Platform Training (AWPT), and the PAL Card is known as the Powered Access Licensed-Registration.