33 replies to this topic

[Night Owl]

On the defence side of things they use a lot of pyro in their trianing plus its a 2 day course and you recieve the bpa paper work which to be honest you dont get in many other places, the bpa are not involved too much in display pyro but its the only real licence in the industry to prove you dont want to make explosions, so i think its a good thing to keep the loonies out of pyro:)

Sorry I should add that was in defence of FFs training fees.

Edited by shell shooter man, 23 May 2007 - 03:48 PM.

[maxman]

Well I took the plunge and sent an email to www.highlightpyro.co.uk Giving them a little background about myself. I asked for some info on cat4 training with a view to helping at a show. That was Monday evening. I requested a read receipt from outlook express and received that some 20 mins later and a second one first thing the next morning. Alas so far I've not had a response. I guess I'm either impatient or they're not interested. Still I would expect to get some sort of reply.

Maybe I shouldn't of mentioned that I associated with you lot on here!

I'll wait in hope and maybe something good will come of it.

[MFX]

Call me a sceptical person, but that looks like a nice way to make a quick buck out of people who are trying to get trained up and working on shows! There are a number of companies who provide training for much less, and indeed in some cases (quite rightly) at no cost at all.

Rocket (before they changed hands) gave me Level 1 and 2 BPA training completely free including a barbeque :-). As there is no LEGALLY recognised training (all training at the moment is only INDUSTRY recognised and who's to say which companies recognise which training scheme?) at present it's not a good idea to pay for training that could well be meaningless in a short time.

Martin.

[Caramanos2000]

Anyone know how I would do this in Puerto Rico?

[starseeker]

I'm looking for cat 4 training within the next couple of months in england, does anyone know where i can go to get trained?

Hi everybody,
does anybody know of any companies etc providing cat 4 training a bit closer to the south west (somerset).I liked the look of S.P fireworks course but it is about a five hour journey from here,i do not mind a couple of hours traveling or so,hopefully there is something within that area.
Regards,
Vince.

[sizzle]

Just to let you guys know, there is another SP Cat 4 Training course on Sunday July 15th. http://www.spfirewor...uk/training.asp

[maxman]

I went down to www.highlightpyro.com a couple of weeks ago to have a chat. All seems well and I was told that after the training course which is to comply with the insurance company that I would be taken on site ASAP as some people think that it may be for them but when 6" shells start going off right next to you some people find they're not cut out for it! ( can't be real pyro's!) Next one is in September and I've been told that I'll be contacted as and when I cant wait! Mostly all hand fired stuff!

[pymp]

Just to let you guys know, there is another SP Cat 4 Training course on Sunday July 15th. http://www.spfirewor...uk/training.asp

Yep, I'll be there hopefully. Anyone else going?

[BrightStar]

Yep, I'll be there hopefully. Anyone else going?

I've signed up - it should be a really good day. See you there

[Spyrotechnics]

I think Highlight have correct attitude to the cost of training, refunding the cost when you start working with them.

I'm sure you will get a lot of guys interested in doing the training who never actually progress to working with the company on displays and therefore the display company needs to cover themselves to a certain extent.

If a company is planning on making use of your skills once trained then there is NO WAY you should be paying for training...... I certainly don't make my guys pay for the training they receive and I also pay for them to undertake BPA examinations


Stu

[BrightStar]

Well, the SP Fireworks Cat 4 training day on Sunday was excellent. Many thanks to Dave, Rich and Mick for organising this (and Paul for helping out).

The UKPS was well represented on the day. We were all amused by Pymp's shoddy attempt at flight rocket salvo that blew up on launch, taking out my own in the process. A safety demo in itself

A good deal of time was spent on practical fusing of timing chains etc, waterproofing and safety. I'm now convinced of the value of PIC in the British climate if only I could get a roll... Everyone learnt some useful new tricks.

We burnt through a fair amount of pyro on the day, including awesome 1kg cones, lots of rockets, plenty of hand-fired shells up to 6", a mine test and lots of big cakes. As a product demo for SP, it did its job - the 'Silver Wizard' cakes from their pro range are v. impressive BTW.

The range of topics covered met most of BPA level 1. All in all, an enjoyable and informative day and good value for money.

Edited by BrightStar, 02 November 2007 - 03:54 PM.

[Arthur Brown]

Few people who do the training will continue through firing for a company for a few years, so training companies have to charge. Good packages allow you to pay back the training by labouring for thr training company.

Probably half of the trainees will not continue in the industry, the rest will do a few shows, realise the work involved, and retire.

Very few will master BPA 1 & 2 then get experience til they can fire shows for companies, even fewer will get all the insurances HSAW, MHSAW, and COMAH and COSHH training, the MSER knowledge etc to run a small company.

Probably no-one will have all the above and the inspiration motivation and money to set up a factory - all properly licensed.

I found a course a while ago, yes it was expensive! BUT the fee included all the firer bits AND all the H&S and a storage application consultancy. As it was a better course the insurers preferred it.

[pymp]

We were all amused by Pymp's shoddy attempt at flight rocket salvo that blew up on launch, taking out my own in the process. A safety demo in itself

Haha, that was mad. We were testing quickmatch linking, and firing several rockets from a single fuse out of a mortar rack. One of my slightly too eager rockets meant that we were firing even more from a single fuse than we had anticipated!

[sizzle]

Hi guys, SP are running another Training day on Sunday the 21st October. There is also SP Firework's annual Demonstration night on the 6th October which is where they showcase a wide range of their products and finish with a display, for more information on training go on their website http://www.spfirewor...uk/training.asp. If anyone is interested in the Demonstration night please PM me.

Sizzle.

[The Legendary Graham]

Well I took the plunge and sent an email to www.highlightpyro.co.uk Giving them a little background about myself. I asked for some info on cat4 training with a view to helping at a show. That was Monday evening. I requested a read receipt from outlook express and received that some 20 mins later and a second one first thing the next morning. Alas so far I've not had a response. I guess I'm either impatient or they're not interested. Still I would expect to get some sort of reply.

Maybe I shouldn't of mentioned that I associated with you lot on here!

I'll wait in hope and maybe something good will come of it.

they are uber busy at the moment as they supply a vast amount of cat4 rest assured they will get back to you.