Cat And Genny Training in Stroud
Building Skills for a Safer Tomorrow
NPORS Accredited • Established 2014 • One-to-One Novice Training • On-Site Nationwide
Training Location
Stroud & Tewkesbury*
On-site training in Stroud or attend our Tewkesbury training centre.
Refresher CAT & Genny Training
1 Day • Maximum 6 Candidates
For candidates with suitable previous recognised CAT & Genny training.
Novice CAT & Genny Training
1 Day • Maximum 6 Candidates
For candidates new to CAT & Genny or without recognised previous training.
Course & Certification
CAT & Genny Training
Practical NPORS Accredited cable avoidance and underground service locating training.
CITB Funding
Funding May Be Available
For eligible CITB-registered employers and qualifying training.
On-Site Training
Across Stroud & Gloucestershire
Train your workforce at your own suitable site.
*Mileage charges may apply
CAT & Genny Training for Stroud Businesses & Contractors CAT & Genny Training in Stroud
Practical CAT & Genny training in Stroud for construction companies, groundworkers, utilities contractors and employees who need to locate underground services safely before excavation begins. Choose novice or refresher training delivered at your suitable workplace in Stroud and the surrounding Gloucestershire area, or attend our training centre in Tewkesbury.
CAT & Genny Training in Stroud
Practical CAT & Genny training in Stroud for construction companies, groundworkers, utilities contractors and employees who need to locate underground services safely before excavation begins. Choose novice or refresher training delivered at your suitable workplace in Stroud and the surrounding Gloucestershire area, or attend our training centre in Tewkesbury.
CAT & Genny Training in Stroud
Book practical CAT & Genny training in Stroud for employees who need to locate underground cables and buried services before excavation or ground disturbance begins.
Vally Plant Training provides CAT & Genny, cable avoidance and underground services detection training for construction companies, groundworkers, utilities contractors, drainage teams, plant operators and civil engineering businesses across Stroud and the surrounding Gloucestershire area.
For employers, we can deliver the course directly at a suitable workplace, helping businesses train several members of their workforce together. Individuals and smaller bookings can attend our dedicated training centre in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
The course is normally completed in one day, with a maximum of six candidates, and is available through Novice and Refresher training routes.
For full national course details, visit our NPORS CAT & Genny Training Course.
Cat And Genny Training At A Glance
CAT & Genny Training in Stroud
✓ Course: CAT & Genny / Cable Avoidance
✓ Duration: Normally 1 Day
✓ Candidates: Maximum 6
✓ Routes: Novice • Refresher
✓ Location: Stroud On-Site • Tewkesbury Centre
✓ Centre Price: From £280 + VAT Per Person
CAT & Genny training for Stroud businesses
Construction and groundworks around Stroud can involve everything from housing developments and drainage installations to utility repairs, landscaping, highways work and commercial projects.
Wherever the ground is going to be disturbed, workers need to consider what may already be underneath it.
Buried electricity cables, gas services, water pipes and telecommunications infrastructure can create serious hazards. A service strike can also result in project delays, damaged equipment, disruption to homes and businesses and significant repair costs.
Our CAT & Genny course in Stroud gives workers practical experience using cable avoidance equipment as part of a safer approach to locating underground services.
For employers with several candidates, delivering the course at your own workplace can minimise travel and time away from the job. We can also discuss other requirements across our wider range of NPORS plant training courses and plant operator courses.
Who should attend CAT & Genny training?
The course is suitable for people whose work could bring them into contact with buried utilities, including:
- Groundworkers
- Excavator operators
- Drainage operatives
- Utility workers
- Civil engineering teams
- Highway workers
- Site engineers
- Construction operatives
- Landscapers carrying out ground disturbance
- Supervisors involved in excavation work
It is also relevant to businesses that need employees to carry out underground service searches before machinery or groundworkers begin excavation.
Which CAT & Genny course do I need?
CAT & Genny training is available through Novice and Refresher routes.
There is no Experienced Worker Test route for CAT & Genny.
Novice CAT & Genny training
Novice training is suitable for candidates who are new to CAT & Genny equipment or who have used cable avoidance tools informally but don’t hold the recognised previous training required for a refresher course.
The course develops practical ability alongside an understanding of why underground service detection must form part of a wider safe system of work.
Candidates learn how to approach a search systematically rather than simply switching on a locator and walking across the proposed excavation area.
CAT & Genny refresher training
Refresher training is available for candidates who have previously completed suitable recognised CAT & Genny or cable avoidance training.
This may include workers whose certificate has expired or is due for renewal, as well as candidates who previously completed recognised accredited training through another awarding body.
Previous practical experience alone does not automatically make someone eligible for the refresher route.
Our Plant Operator Guides provide further information about training routes, certification and NPORS.
What does CAT & Genny training cover?
The course combines theory with practical use of the equipment.
Training covers areas including:
- Underground service hazards
- Responsibilities before ground disturbance
- Service plans and available site information
- Pre-use checks
- CAT scanner controls
- Power mode
- Radio mode
- Generator mode
- Correct use of the Genny
- Systematic search techniques
- Tracing services
- Interpreting locator indications
- Marking detected services
- Equipment limitations
- Re-scanning as work progresses
- Safe excavation principles
- Actions where information is uncertain
The aim is to give candidates a practical understanding of both how the equipment is used and what it cannot tell them.
HSG47 and avoiding underground service strikes
HSE guidance HSG47 – Avoiding Danger from Underground Services describes three basic elements of a safe system of work: planning the work, locating and identifying buried services, and safe excavation.
CAT & Genny equipment sits within that wider process.
A cable locator doesn’t replace service drawings, risk assessment, planning or safe digging practices. Likewise, finding and marking a suspected service doesn’t mean the excavation can then proceed without appropriate precautions.
Our Working Near Underground Services Guide explains the wider process of preparing for work around buried utilities.
Understanding CAT scanner modes
One of the reasons formal training matters is that a Cable Avoidance Tool can operate using different locating modes.
Candidates need to understand why relying on only one mode can give an incomplete picture of what may be underground.
The course covers the appropriate use of Power, Radio and Generator modes, together with systematic search techniques and interpretation of the responses produced by the equipment.
Workers also need to recognise that the absence of a signal does not prove that an excavation area is free from buried services.
Why use a Genny with a CAT?
The Genny is a Signal Generator used alongside compatible locating equipment.
It can apply a detectable signal to a suitable service, allowing the CAT operator to locate and trace that signal.
This can provide additional information compared with relying only on passive signals already present in the ground.
Knowing when and how to use the Genny is therefore an important part of practical cable avoidance training.
Underground service plans and CAT scanning
Service plans can provide valuable information about utilities expected within a work area, but the information shown on drawings needs to be considered alongside what is found on site.
A CAT & Genny survey can help locate and trace services, but neither the drawing nor the locator should be considered in isolation.
Where the scan results, physical site features and available service information do not agree, the discrepancy needs to be addressed before excavation proceeds.
CAT & Genny training for excavator operators
Excavator operators frequently work in areas containing buried services, particularly during drainage, trenching, foundations and utility work.
Holding an excavator qualification does not automatically demonstrate competence to carry out underground service locating.
Likewise, completing CAT & Genny training does not qualify someone to operate an excavator.
Stroud employers requiring both competencies can combine workforce planning with our 360 Excavator Training Course and other relevant plant courses.
Cable avoidance for drainage and utility work
Drainage and utility projects frequently involve excavation in areas where existing services already cross the proposed work.
The location of those services may affect where a trench can be excavated, how the work is approached and what additional precautions are required.
CAT & Genny training is therefore particularly relevant to Stroud businesses carrying out:
- Drainage installation
- Utility connections
- Service repairs
- Duct installation
- Groundworks
- Foundation excavation
- Highway work
- Commercial developments
- Housing projects
Locating equipment is one part of establishing what may be underground before the ground is disturbed.
CAT & Genny training and safe excavation
Locating and marking a buried service is not the end of the process.
The information obtained needs to be communicated to those carrying out and supervising the excavation.
Excavation methods should then reflect the hazards identified, the expected position of services and any uncertainty that remains.
Where appropriate, careful excavation, trial holes and continued checks can help confirm the actual position of buried infrastructure.
A CAT scan should never be treated as proof that an area is completely clear.
On-site CAT & Genny training in Stroud
Vally Plant Training can deliver on-site CAT & Genny courses in Stroud and across the surrounding Gloucestershire area.
This is particularly suitable for employers wanting to train a group of employees together.
Areas covered can include:
Stroud • Stonehouse • Nailsworth • Minchinhampton • Dursley • Wotton-under-Edge • Painswick • Chalford and surrounding Gloucestershire areas.
On-site delivery allows candidates to train without travelling to our centre and can reduce disruption when several members of the same workforce require certification.
Businesses needing multiple categories can also view our full range of NPORS training courses.
CAT & Genny training near Stroud at our Tewkesbury centre
Individuals and businesses that don’t have suitable facilities for workplace training can attend our dedicated training centre at Newton Farm Business Park, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 7BE.
The centre is conveniently located close to M5 Junction 9, with parking available.
Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station is approximately five minutes’ walk away, providing another option for candidates travelling without a car.
Centre-based CAT & Genny training is useful for individual candidates, smaller companies and employers that only have one or two people requiring the course.
On-site training requirements
For workplace delivery, the customer site must provide a suitable and safe environment for both the theory and practical elements of the course.
Requirements can include:
- Suitable CAT & Genny equipment
- Manufacturer information where required
- Safe practical training area
- Appropriate underground service locating opportunities
- Relevant risk assessments
- Method statements where applicable
- Suitable welfare and theory facilities
- Candidate photo ID
- Required PPE
Full information is available in our Customer Site Requirements for Plant Operator Training.
PPE For Cat And Genny Training In Stroud
PPE for CAT & Genny Training
✓ Safety boots
✓ High-visibility clothing
✓ Suitable workwear
✓ Hard hat where required
✓ Gloves / eye protection where required
✓ Site-specific PPE
CAT & Genny training prices in Stroud
Training at our Tewkesbury centre starts from:
Novice CAT & Genny Training – From £280 + VAT per person
Refresher CAT & Genny Training – From £280 + VAT per person
NPORS Card & Registration – £45 + VAT per person
Published centre prices apply to training undertaken at our Tewkesbury facility.
On-site CAT & Genny training in Stroud is quoted separately according to the number of candidates, location, training route, equipment and overall booking requirements.
Discounts may be available for multiple candidates or businesses arranging several training courses.
Assessment and certification
Candidates complete theory and practical assessment appropriate to the course.
They need to demonstrate that they can use CAT & Genny equipment correctly, conduct a systematic search, interpret indications and understand the limitations of underground service locating equipment.
Vally Plant Training is an NPORS Approved Training Provider and CITB Training Provider Network Member.
NPORS certification is available following successful completion of the appropriate course and assessment.
In-house certification may also be available where suitable. In-house certification is not the same as an NPORS operator card, and acceptance depends on the employer, site, client, principal contractor and insurer.
Operators and employers wanting to understand the wider NPORS system can visit our Plant Operator Guides, which include guidance on NPORS card types, training routes and operator qualifications.
CITB funding for Stroud employers
Eligible CITB-registered businesses may be able to access funding towards qualifying training, subject to current CITB requirements.
Vally Plant Training is a CITB Training Provider Network Member, and businesses arranging workforce training can discuss their requirements with us when requesting a quotation.
Training for Stroud Groundworks Teams
Related guides
Plant & Excavation Guides
Practical information for operators and employers.
Book CAT & Genny training in Stroud
Book CAT & Genny Training for Your Stroud Workforce
Arrange Novice or Refresher CAT & Genny training at your Stroud workplace or book candidates onto a course at our Tewkesbury training centre.
✓ REFRESHER
✓ GROUP BOOKINGS
✓ ON-SITE STROUD
✓ TEWKESBURY CENTRE
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Your Frequently Asked Questions Answered
Yes. We can deliver CAT & Genny training at suitable customer sites across Stroud and the surrounding Gloucestershire area.
This can be particularly convenient when several employees require training because the workforce can complete the course without travelling individually to Tewkesbury.
CAT & Genny training is normally completed in one day, with up to six candidates on a course.
Both Novice and Refresher routes are available, depending on the candidate’s previous recognised training.
Groundworkers may still need CAT & Genny competence if their role includes locating services, scanning proposed excavation areas or supporting work around underground utilities.
The person carrying out the service search needs the knowledge and practical ability required for that task, regardless of who ultimately operates the excavator.
Yes. CAT & Genny training is particularly relevant to drainage teams because new drainage runs and repairs frequently involve excavation around existing buried infrastructure.
Courses can accommodate up to six candidates, making on-site delivery a practical option for Stroud drainage and groundworks businesses.
It may be. Candidates who previously completed suitable recognised accredited CAT & Genny or cable avoidance training through another awarding body may be eligible for Refresher training.
Previous certification should be checked before booking if there is any uncertainty over the appropriate route.
No. Cable avoidance equipment has limitations, and not every buried service will necessarily produce a detectable signal.
Operators therefore need to understand the equipment’s limitations and use locating information alongside service plans, site observations and appropriate safe excavation procedures.
Read our Working Near Underground Services Guide for more information.
The difference should not simply be ignored.
Plans, physical site evidence and locator results need to be considered together. Where information conflicts or the service position remains uncertain, the situation should be investigated before excavation continues.
No. CAT & Genny and excavator operation are separate competencies.
CAT & Genny training covers underground service locating and cable avoidance. Anyone operating an excavator also needs appropriate competence for the machine they are using.
See our 360 Excavator Training Course for operator training.
Our training centre is at Newton Farm Business Park, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 7BE, close to Junction 9 of the M5.
Stroud candidates can attend the centre for CAT & Genny training when workplace delivery isn’t required.
Yes. Vally Plant Training delivers a wide range of plant and operator courses for businesses, including excavator, dumper, telehandler, roller, lifting and other specialist training.
View our NPORS Training Courses or browse our full course range.
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Family-Run Since 2014 • Direct Training Provider • NPORS Approved
Vally Plant Training is an NPORS-approved plant training provider based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, delivering accredited plant operator training courses across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bristol, Worcestershire, Birmingham, Wiltshire, and the wider Midlands and South West.
We offer flexible, practical NPORS training for individuals and businesses in construction, industrial, agricultural, and private sectors, ensuring compliance with UK health and safety standards while helping operators gain recognised certification and real-world skills.