Full HTC team attend Emergency First Aid at Work refresher
Safety on a site isn’t a poster on the wall — it’s competence in the moment. This week, the full HTC Arbor Services team completed an Emergency First Aid at Work refresher, keeping skills sharp and ensuring every crew member is ready to respond quickly, calmly, and correctly if something goes wrong.
Using resuscitation simulators and defibrillators made the training feel very realistic.
Arboriculture and large commercial tree operations bring real-world risk: remote working, heavy equipment, cutting tools, and changing weather conditions. In those environments, first aid has to be practical, immediate, and specific — not just a tick-box exercise.
Industry-specific first aid for real site conditions
The refresher focused on scenarios and techniques most relevant to tree work and commercial sites, including:
Resuscitation techniques (CPR)
Emergency planning and incident response
Dealing with catastrophic bleed injuries
Recognising and responding to heat exhaustion and hypothermia
Managing seizures
Safe and confident use of a defibrillator (AED)
The session also reinforced clear decision-making under pressure — who takes charge, how the team communicates, and how to make the scene safe while help is on the way.
Why this matters for HTC clients
For councils, principal contractors, developers, and partner arborist teams, knowing your contractor is prepared makes a difference. It means stronger site discipline, better risk awareness, and crews who are trained not only to work safely, but to respond effectively when circumstances change.
The course provided new skills as life saving technology has progressed
As always, HTC’s focus is simple: do the job properly, protect people, and keep sites moving.
“We work in environments where the pace can be high and the risks are real — so we train for reality, not a certificate,” said Andy Hollingsworth, Founder and Owner of HTC Arbor Services. “The biggest takeaway for the team is confidence: confidence to spot the early signs, confidence to act fast, and confidence to look after each other. For our clients, it’s peace of mind — you’re putting crews on your sites who take safety seriously and are prepared for the unexpected.”
The training was delivered by Green Apple Training and Consultancy, with a focus on practical, hands-on learning that mirrors the conditions teams face day-to-day.
“What impressed me about HTC is that they treat first aid as a working skill, not a compliance box,” said Greg Henry, Trainer at Green Apple Training and Consultancy. “We covered CPR, AED use, emergency planning, catastrophic bleeding, and the realities of temperature-related illness — because those are the situations where good training really counts. The whole team engaged brilliantly, and that commitment directly benefits their colleagues and everyone sharing the site with them.”
HTC will continue to invest in training that keeps standards high — not just for safety compliance, but for professionalism, reliability, and confident delivery on every job.
