Chain of custody training for certification bodies
Discover the options for training your auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers.
Chain of custody training for certification bodies
To carry out PEFC chain of custody certification according to PEFC ST 2003:2020, auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers must attend a PEFC recognised training.
There are two types of training - initial and refresher:
- Initial training is for auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers that are not yet qualified to undertake PEFC chain of custody audits
- Refresher training is for auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers that are already qualified
Auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers must complete a refresher training once every two years and when there is a new issuance of the PEFC Chain of Custody or Trademarks standards. Following the publication of the 2020 PEFC Chain of Custody and Trademarks standards, qualified individuals need to attend a refresher training before auditing against them.
The training helps ensure your personnel are up-to-date with the PEFC Chain of Custody standard and our expectations, clarifications and interpretations. It also allows us to exchange experiences and to receive valuable feedback on the implementation of the standard.
Only chain of custody training recognised by PEFC International is valid for the continued qualification of personnel.
Chain of custody training options
We provide two options for your auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers to receive chain of custody training.
Training organised by PEFC
The first option is attending a training organised by PEFC. Our training sessions, both initial and refresher, are conducted regularly throughout the year, online and in-person. These sessions are run by PEFC International and PEFC national members, ensuring they are held in a variety of languages and time zones.
All training organised by PEFC is carried out by recognised PEFC International Technical Experts. These experts have all be trained to ensure they carry out high-quality, harmonised chain of custody training, coordinated at the international level. All upcoming training sessions are listed on our website.
By choosing to train your auditors through PEFC organised training, you have the freedom to pick the sessions in the language and time that suits you, while being assured that all the training is of the same high-quality. With all the sessions in one place, it’s easy to find, select and register for the training that is right for your auditors.
PEFC recognition of certification body internal training
The second option is to join the PEFC Training Recognition Programme (TRP), enabling certification bodies to get formal recognition of their internal PEFC chain of custody training programme. This means you train your own auditors in compliance with PEFC requirements, qualifying them to carry out audits against the 2020 PEFC Chain of Custody standard.
One of the main benefits of the TRP is that you do not need to plan how and when every individual participant can attend a training organised by PEFC. Instead, you can decide when to train them.
The TRP can be particularly beneficial to larger certification bodies with many auditors, reviewers and certification decisions to train, as there is a 75% discount applied when 50 or more participants are trained.