THE EUROPEAN CHAINSAW CERTIFICATE (ECC) SINCE 2009 TO 2018: DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Mobility of forest operators within the European Union is gradually growing. Some countries have reliable certification systems to test the knowledge and skills of those people, but a shared certificate was still missing. Moreover, it is difficult to assess the validity of foreign certificates. The development of European standards would allow national certificates to add a European recognition to their brand, thus increasing the value for workers who want to work in other member states across the EU. A European standard gives the opportunity to participate in an internationally recognised system to countries that do not have a certificate now. This would increase transparency and workforce mobility within the European trade area and thus strengthen the forestry, arboricultural and green area management sector, with special attention to the use of chainsaw that is still the most common tool in forest operations in many countries. Certification is also often requested by occasional chainsaw users which will enhance the safety and health among nonprofessional target groups. Since June 2009 in Europe, a new organisation has been active, known as the ‘European Forestry and Environmental Skills Council’ (EFESC). EFESC has been formed as a result of the Leonard project: “Evaluation and Implementation of Chainsaw Operators Certification”. EFESC is an organisation where delegates are represented by various stakeholders throughout Europe. Training centres, EU branch organisations of forest industry, trade unions, manufacturers of tools, machines and equipment for forestry work or environmental work, certification schemes, are examples of stakeholders directly involved in EFESC. The objectives of EFESC are to: - develop minimum qualification standards in professions like forestry, landscaping, tree-work and or horticulture, contributing to the harmonization and improvement of qualification in the above mentioned professions in Europe; - improve safety standardizing common procedures for an efficient and safe work; - improve workforce mobility thanks to the reciprocal recognition of certificates among countries involved in EFESC; - encourage lifelong learning and continuous professional development; - encourage interchangeability of existing national chainsaw certificates. European Chainsaw minimum Standards (ECS) have been developed for different skill levels in chainsaw use.