Vertical work means work with ropes, cables, and other types of devices using which a person can be suspended in the air to perform certain tasks. Although mountaineering is a modern sport, this type of work was already carried out in ancient times, one of its execution being striking. Knowledge of climbing techniques, mountaineering, theatrical stage, and other relevant trades is essential. Despite the common belief, abseiling is not a discipline but simply a technique used in different trades, so when someone says “rappelling specialist,” it is nonsense.
Communication tower.

Rope access techniques are associated with mountaineering techniques developed in Europe in the Black Sea, and transferred to urban and industrial environments by rope access companies; Nowadays they allow to carry out work in places of difficult access, increasing the degree of security and eliminating accidents derived from falls. For this reason, since the middle of the 20th century, the needs of safety and effectiveness in the industrial environment led different companies in the United States and Europe to request interventions from the alpine environment for the repair and maintenance of towers, tall buildings, bridges, etc.

2 Vertical works are techniques for working at height that is based on the use of ropes, anchors, and progression devices to access natural objects (trees), subsoil (wells), constructions (buildings, dikes, bridges, etc.), along with all the accessories incorporated into them to carry out some work. The use of vertical work techniques is advisable in those jobs where the assembly of traditional systems (for example, scaffolding) is technically difficult or presents a greater risk than doing it with these techniques, even though the duration of many of these works makes financially unprofitable.

There are two important concepts for all types of work at heights, the safety chain and the suspension chain. The first refers to the set of tools that, through their properties, acts to protect the worker from the negative consequences of an accidental fall. The second is the set of tools necessary for the positioning of the worker. The elements of both chains are:

Static elements (resistance).
    Harness
    Ribbons and cords
    Connectors
    Anchors
    Semi-static ropes from 10mm to 13mm
    Pulleys
Dynamic elements (absorption).
    Insurers / desensors
    Dynamic strings
Individual protection elements.
    Helmet
    Safety shoes
    Protection gloves

The fields of application in which these techniques are used are:

Finishing and maintenance of new and old buildings.
Rehabilitation and maintenance of industrial equipment and monuments.
Overhead power lines.
Dams and hydraulic power plants.
Mounts in height.
Various works on rocky fronts and slopes.
Civil and public works.
Communication towers (cell phone, microwave, etc.).

If you have taken a rope access training course, you should know that you have an open world before you. In the labor sphere, the height work sector offers many opportunities for specialist technicians. Thanks to internationally approved titles such as IRATA, the most recommended to be later able to work both in Spain and in other countries, the job opportunities for vertical workers are diverse. Both in the type of activity and in places to develop it.

Today in our blog, we show you the most exciting jobs this sector offers you. And we also show you how much approximately you can get paid developing this work activity. And the advantages of this type of work at height. There are currently not many professions that offer you so many types of employment, in addition, the particularities that you can find in each of them. Let’s see it!
Types of job opportunities in vertical work
For the purely urban

The construction sector is, in general, another of the great options for those seeking vertical work employment. This is a field that encompasses various career opportunities for vertical workers. Because vertical work is much more than building maintenance. But even this facet can be beautiful. For example, do you see yourself helping to restore facades of ancient architecture? These types of interventions are prevalent in building maintenance. And many companies are looking for qualified technicians to perform these tasks. In civil and public works. Even within what is known as “green rehabilitation” of buildings: improving their efficiency in terms of energy and water use and acoustics and habitability. An exciting ecological challenge.

But you can also dedicate yourself to the assembly of large cranes. Huge masses are assembled by accessing them using smaller cranes. Ideal for crazy people from great heights!

Installations of elements of all kinds

From large billboards to lightning rods. A rope access expert can be hired to carry out a myriad of installations. As well as antennas, sound or lighting systems, waterproofing, stained glass or other ornaments. Because getting to where many others cannot is worth money. We must consider the type of facade where the work is carried out and the type of installation in the upper part that we are going to use. And as a specialist, it will increase your cache if you gain experience in all of them and like this section of vertical works.

You will be able to exercise your profession not only by installing these elements but also by repairing, cleaning, or replacing them. It depends on the needs of the building.
Oil rigs, adventures at sea

But other possibilities may be more attractive to you because they are very different. How to work on oil rigs! Mini “cities” in the middle of the ocean. A real adventure. If you like to travel and see distant places and handle isolation well, it may be your best option. Searching on Google will not cost you much to find international job applications of this kind. For example, the INA company – a leader in the oil industry in Croatia – employed more than 10,000 people in 2017, some of them vertical workers.

But you can also look for vacancies in large companies such as Tullow Oil (Africa), Husky Energy (Canada), OMV (Austria), or the well-known Shell (based in the Netherlands), among others. However, most of these companies have oil rigs in different corners of the planet. Remember that in all cases, you will need the IRATA title to be part of these templates.

Geotechnics, for lovers of wild nature

If you are one of them, the geotechnical sector awaits you. A discipline that studies the earth’s crust to apply for civil engineering works. Within this field, among other actions, containment structures are created to avoid landslides when executing work. You will be able to work in pure rock, for example, to avoid landslides while building roads. A tall job! In addition, you will be part of a subsector that is booming – geotechnics – and if you specialize in it and gain experience, you will probably not lack work.

But nature offers much more to vertical workers. As in the case of my work. Both are working indoors and outdoors! These are high-altitude jobs that are difficult to access in the mining industry. As in high slopes and steep slopes, as a step before its treatment or explosion by the experts in mines. Or also tasks such as the placement of meshes and cable networks that support structures so that there are no landslides, also part of geotechnics.