Construction Business Review

Kearney Training & Consultancy Ltd
Quality & Accredited Health and Safety Training throughout Ireland

Founded in the 18th century, The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland’s 4th Blue Light service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). Empowering shipping and government agencies with maritime safety and search and rescue services, The Irish Coast Guard is on a mission to promote safety and security standards. Strategically positioned around the coastline of Ireland and on the inland waterways, the Coast Guard volunteer network comprises 55 units with 1000 volunteers who are extensively trained to utilise diverse vehicles and equipment for improving the response time and ensuring availability round the clock. An ATV training course is an instrumental aspect of this overall training provided to the volunteers.

When it comes to training and getting the volunteers up and running with these ATV’s, The Irish Coast Guard places its faith in Kearney Training & Consultancy, one of the largest health and safety training organisations in Ireland with one of the largest dedicated training centres in the country. Kearney Training & Consultancy (KTC Safety) developed a course to train and assess over 400 Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) volunteers in the use of Sit-In ATVs. With training courses conducted nationwide by a highly skilled team of trainers and assessors, KTC is trusted by renowned organisations in Ireland, including The Irish Coast Guard, Waterford Institute of Technology, Irish Rail, Hertel, Bord na Mona, and more. KTC has also extended its services to Ervia—a commercial semi-state multi-utility company responsible for the delivery of Ireland’s national gas and water infrastructure and services. KTC developed various courses for Ervia, which included the usage of tail lift operation, tipper body, safe loading & cargo, and mounted cranes.

KTC was formed by David Kearney Snr & David Kearney Jnr in 2009 in the middle of a recession. The company was born with a singular focus on meeting the demand for training and certification, enabling people to further their education, assisting the unemployed to find employment, and up-skilling in current jobs and continual development. It has been over 10 years since KTC was founded; today, the team comprises eight full-time instructors and seven office staff members.

With a specialised team of professionals, KTC operates out of a dedicated training facility located at Portlaoise, Co. Laois and extends its training services across both nationwide and the UK. The company continues to live and breathe its vision and is committed to providing ‘best practices’ and quality services to its clients.

To begin with, KTC is solving a long-standing challenge in this realm: lack of accredited certification for courses. “We aim to give members of the public the best certification and quality training courses.

We aim to give members of the public the best certification and quality training courses


KTC gained centre and instructor certification from many different awarding bodies, such as CIEH, City & Guilds NPTC, IOSH, Irish Heart Foundation, LANTRA Awards, QQI, Road Safety Authority & SOLAS,” says David Kearney Jnr Director & Operations Manager, KTC.

At the core, KTC equips its clients with different courses and consulting services pertaining to training, assessment, certification and registration needs. Striving to be the one-stop-shop for health and safety training, KTC offers over 100 courses in various sectors, including agriculture, arboriculture, construction, forestry, horticulture, industrial, pesticides, quarry, rail, scaffolding, transport and many more. “Major construction contractors and builders today rely on KTC to enable their works to achieve a valid Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card,” informs David Kearney Jr, Director & Operations Manager, KTC. The company’s CSCS training courses meet the diverse needs of construction professionals in Ireland.

These health and safety courses are delivered through a combination of classroom-based tutorials as well as practical training, allowing experienced professionals to gain the necessary training and recognition through assessment protocols.

KTC also offers a full range of construction consultancy services ranging from site safety visits to risk assessments and health and safety plans.

Moving ahead, it is anticipated that more certification categories will become mandatory under the CSCS scheme for the construction industry, KTC is already prepared for this development as the company currently offers certification under City & Guilds NPTC or LANTRA Award for many plant items that do not fall under the CSCS scheme currently. This enables the company’s instructors to be one step ahead as they are currently approved by other awarding bodies and are providing courses for the additional plant items such as MEWP’s, Ride-on Rollers, Skid Steer Loaders, Loading Shovels, Abrasive Wheels etc. Continuing its impressive track record, KTC is committed to working with it’s clients to build a productive long term relationship in a safe working environment.