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.