Training needs analysis template

A training needs analysis (TNA) asks what each role must be able to do safely, what evidence shows people can do it now, and which gaps require training, instruction, supervision or other action. It starts with work and risk, not a catalogue of courses. Copy the tables below into a controlled document or spreadsheet and adapt them to your workplace. A completed TNA should lead to assignments, deadlines, verification and a review when duties or risks change.

The Health and Safety Executive explains competence as a combination of training, skills, experience, knowledge and the ability to apply them safely. HSE's training guidance says workers need clear information, adequate training and supervision, particularly when they are new, change roles or take on extra duties. A training course is only one possible response to a gap. A worker may need practical demonstration, supervised experience, different equipment, a clearer procedure or authorisation rather than another generic online module.

This template owns the *decision process* for determining training and competence needs. A training matrix guide explains how to display existing worker records and renewals, and the live construction training matrix article covers that sector's tracking view. Do not make a second generic matrix here. The TNA feeds those records after management decides what each role actually requires.

Part A: define the work and decision owner

Before filling individual rows, collect the actual job descriptions, risk assessments, safe systems, equipment manuals, legal authorisations, site rules and relevant incident trends. Talk to supervisors and people doing the work: they may identify a task that the job description never mentions. Mark an assumption openly rather than filling a column from memory. If the analysis spans several sites, record differences; a warehouse operative who occasionally uses a forklift has a different requirement from someone whose role is only pedestrian picking.

Part B: role and task analysis

Create one row per meaningful role–task–risk combination. A department label alone is too broad if workers have different duties. Copy these columns:

A risk assessment should help set priority, but do not turn every control into a course. If a machine has a guarding defect, repair the guard. Training staff to keep their hands clear is not an adequate substitute for engineering control. If workers cannot understand an instruction because of language or literacy barriers, adapt the way information is delivered and verify understanding, rather than merely recording attendance.

Part C: select the right response to a gap

Use a short decision sequence:

1. Is the task necessary and controlled? Eliminate or redesign unsafe work where possible. Training cannot make an inherently uncontrolled method safe.
2. Is a specific qualification, licence, authorisation or competent-person role required? Check the current law, industry scheme, equipment instructions and client's legitimate requirement. Record the exact source and validity conditions. Do not invent an expiry date for a course that has none.
3. What does the worker already demonstrate? Consider work history, prior learning, observed performance, records, relevant qualifications and familiarity with this site or machine. A card is evidence, not a universal substitute for competence. HSE's construction worker guidance says industry cards alone should not be relied on as the only evidence for a task.
4. What part is missing? Distinguish knowledge, practical skill, experience, understanding of a changed procedure and authorisation. Different gaps need different interventions.
5. What can happen while the gap remains? Restrict independent work, increase competent supervision, reassign tasks or stop the activity. Record who is responsible for the interim control.
6. How will capability be verified? A completion certificate confirms course participation or assessment as described by its provider. The employer should still confirm the worker can apply controls in the real task.
7. What will trigger reassessment? New equipment, site conditions, a process change, incident, poor observation, role change, legal update or a genuine credential expiry may all matter.

For work equipment, HSE's training and competence guidance says users need adequate training in the methods, risks and precautions. For construction, the amount of skills, knowledge, training and experience should match the work. For specialist tasks such as asbestos work, consult the dedicated HSE asbestos training guidance rather than treating a generic awareness course as authorisation for all asbestos activities.

Part D: example completed rows

These examples illustrate the method; they are not a legal training matrix for every employer.

The first-aid example depends on the employer's actual first-aid needs assessment; it does not imply that every office needs the same course. The excavation example is not an engineering authorisation. The goal is a transparent line from task and risk to capability, evidence, action and review.

Part E: turn the analysis into a plan

After reviewing all rows, create a prioritised action list:

Prioritise work where a serious harm pathway is present and a person may be assigned before they are ready. The absence of a training certificate is not always the most important gap; an untrained operator on a hazardous machine may need immediate restriction, while a scheduled refresher for a low-risk administrative topic may be less urgent. Record who can authorise a return to independent work. A manager should verify that the action was delivered and effective, not simply change “open” to “closed” when an invoice arrives.

If the organisation uses contractors, decide whether the TNA covers its own employees only or also interface roles and contractor oversight. You should check that the contractor is competent for the work it is engaged to do, while the contractor may own its individual worker training records. Agree evidence and supervision responsibilities in the contract and site plan. Do not upload unnecessary personal data to a shared system; show only what the buyer or site needs to verify.

Review triggers and common mistakes

Review the analysis when roles or work change, not only at a fixed annual meeting. Useful triggers include new machinery, a new hazardous substance, altered access or rescue arrangements, a new legal requirement, incident findings, a failed audit, changed contractor scope or evidence that a worker cannot apply a procedure. A fixed review date is still helpful for housekeeping, but it should not be the only trigger.

Common mistakes include copying a course list from another trade, treating attendance as competence, setting fictional annual expiries, using one row for workers with different tasks, ignoring experienced workers' unfamiliarity with new equipment, leaving gaps open without interim controls, and claiming a product automatically decides what training the law requires. The TNA should be owned by someone who understands the work and can involve competent advisers for specialist topics.

Complys connection

The relevant commercial route is Complys training matrix software, subject to current implementation verification. A system may help store requirements, evidence and reminders, but this template does not establish that Complys offers a live automated TNA, legal-competence engine, training provider integration or formal authorisation workflow. Ask for a demonstration of the exact feature and distinguish live from planned capability. The employer still decides what tasks workers may perform and provides adequate training and supervision.

Next step: copy the two worksheets, choose one safety-critical role, check its current risk assessment and equipment instructions, and complete the gap/action cycle with the supervisor and workers. Once requirements are agreed, use a training matrix to monitor evidence across the workforce. Recheck the internal product and guide routes when integrating this page.

Source, claim and writer-side QA register

Owner/cannibalisation: Current live matrix guide and blog own completed-training tracking; unpublished N5-337 was merged into those owners. This page owns *analysis of needs and gap actions*, with different fields and process. Verify no newer exact TNA route in repository. Writer-side QA: Direct answer, copyable analysis and action forms, worked examples, role/task risk method, differentiation from matrix, source register, product boundary, links and metadata checked. READY is writer-side only; specialist, repo/route, implementation and whole-page gates remain.