Training

Having competent people is a key element of any safe system of work. Training is one factor in the process of someone becoming competent. However, training on its own does not make someone competent as that usually requires experience, other forms of education and the right attitude.

Training comes in many different forms including people attending training courses and learning ‘on the job.’ Unfortunately a lot of training is ineffective because the objectives (i.e. what is needed to do the job safely) are not clearly defined and because the retention of training is not tested afterwards. Therefore, it is important that competency requirements are fully understood, training needs are evaluated (i.e. identifying which of the competency requirements an individual does not have), selecting the correct method of training and assessing competence.