Highlights from our RSPO lead auditor training in Ghana

21 trainees have spent this week gaining the skills and knowledge needed to audit to the RSPO producer standard in Takoradi, in Ghana’s Western Region.

Designed for auditors who wish to audit to the RSPO producer standard, the RSPO Lead Auditor course is also relevant for oil palm company staff who are responsible for implementing RSPO requirements, as well as any other interested stakeholders, such as from governments or NGOs. It has been endorsed by RSPO since 2008.

The trainees attending the Takoradi course started their week with two days in the classroom – for tutorials, exercises and group work – before putting the theory into practice during a mock audit of an oil palm plantation, kindly hosted by Norpalm Ghana. Following another day and half of classroom activities, including the development of a report back from the audit exercise and a qualifying exam.

The mock audit is a critical part of the training offered by Proforest, enabling trainees to gain crucial practical experience supported by a team of qualified staff. Not only are all Proforest course trainers qualified Lead Auditors, they are also experts in specific areas relating to RSPO audits, including HCV and FPIC. The training course provides an opportunity to learn from group’s collective experiences and expertise.

For some of the trainees, this will be their first experience of working with the RSPO standard. Proforest’s online learning platform provides modules to introduce trainees to the RSPO Principles and Criteria and key associated concepts. All participants need to successfully complete these modules before attending the face-to-face training.

Proforest runs several RSPO Lead Auditor courses each year, in West Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, offering courses in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia.

We have three courses planned for the rest of 2016, taking place in Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Mexico. These courses will be delivered in French, Bahasa Indonesia and Spanish respectively. Follow the links for more information or email us if you would like to find out more.

To keep up-to-date with all of our training events, please visit our training page: www.proforest.net/training and subscribe to our training email updates.