All business employer must need to make sure that all your employees are trained to be able to

work safely.

If you use supervisors or managers to deliver in-house training, they should be experienced and

well trained in the type of work or operation on which the training is to be given and they may

need additional training in the specific hazards of the processes and how you expect the risks to

be controlled.

Employer or a self employed person, will need to keep yourself up to date with how to identify

the hazards and control the risks arising from your work. You will also need to know about

consulting employees or their representatives on health and safety issues. These may be areas

where you could benefit from some training.

All employees should be given induction training when they first start work. This should cover

basic health and safety procedures including the arrangements for first aid, fire, evacuation and

any company rules.

You should identify the skills and knowledge needed for people to carry out their work safely

and compare these against people’s current skills and knowledge and identify the gaps.

Your risk assessment and your accident book will also help you to identify areas where further

training is required.

Much of the training required for standard work processes within your business can be carried

out ‘in-house’ using experienced workers, but you must make sure that the designated trainers

are clear about what you expect them to cover in terms of health and safety and how you expect

them to deliver the training. .

Certain training, such as forklift truck driver, first aid or scaffolder training can only be given by

external training providers.

Although not compulsory, it is a good idea to get employees to sign off on the training they have

received and to keep these records within your health and safety documentation. The records

should also indicate the content and duration of the training.

You should review the training needs of your employees if work processes change, new work

equipment is introduced or if an employee is moved to a different part of the business and

provide more training if it is needed.

If employees are not using their skills regularly their competence will decline. To avoid this,

periodic refresher training should be given. For certain skills, refresher training is compulsory.

First aiders for example must attend refresher training every 3 years for their training certificate

to remain valid.

Young workers are a vulnerable group and they will require extra training and close supervision.

Their specific needs will be highlighted in your young persons risk assessment.