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Define what mandatory means
Mandatory training should be tied to a role, site, department or policy requirement.
Avoid labelling every optional course as mandatory, or the tracker will become noisy.
Do not start with a generic internet list. Identify the law, regulator, contract, policy or risk assessment behind each requirement, then record who it applies to and who approved the rule.
Mandatory training every employer should consider
Every employer must give staff the information, instruction and training they need to work safely. What that means in practice comes from your risk assessments, so the list differs between an office, a kitchen and a warehouse.
First aid training follows your first aid needs assessment. HSE guidance says first aid at work certificates are valid for three years, so they are one of the few items with a clear renewal date.
- Health and safety induction for the work and site
- Fire safety, including what to do when the alarm sounds
- First aid, where your needs assessment calls for first aiders
- Manual handling, where the risk assessment identifies it
- Display screen equipment, for regular computer users
- Data protection, where staff handle personal data
Mandatory training for care workers
CQC Regulation 18 expects registered providers to make sure staff receive the training, supervision and appraisal they need to do their job. The regulator looks at whether training is suitable for each role, not at a fixed national course list.
Since the Health and Care Act 2022, CQC-registered providers must also make sure staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is the standardised programme for this.
People new to care usually complete the Care Certificate, an agreed set of standards that Skills for Care updated in March 2025. Track its start date, completion and assessor sign-off like any other requirement.
- Safeguarding adults, and children where relevant
- Moving and handling people
- Infection prevention and control
- Fire safety and basic life support
- Medication, for staff who give or support it
- Learning disability and autism, at the right tier for the role
NHS mandatory training
NHS organisations set their own statutory and mandatory training, and NHS England's national framework helps them agree what applies and how learning is recognised between employers. Many align their core subjects with the Core Skills Training Framework.
Because staff move between NHS employers, record the provider and completion date clearly so earlier training can be recognised instead of repeated.
- Fire safety, and health, safety and welfare
- Infection prevention and control
- Information governance and data security
- Safeguarding adults and children
- Moving and handling, and resuscitation at the right level
- Equality, diversity and human rights, and conflict resolution
Schools and early years
Keeping children safe in education says all school and college staff should receive safeguarding and child protection training at induction, with updates at least annually. The designated safeguarding lead's training should be refreshed at least every two years.
In early years, the EYFS statutory framework requires a person with a current paediatric first aid certificate to be on the premises whenever children are present. Paediatric first aid training must be renewed every three years.
Monitor renewals
Some mandatory training has a defined renewal cycle; other requirements should be refreshed when risks, guidance, equipment or roles change. Do not invent an annual expiry merely because a spreadsheet needs a date.
Where a cycle is justified, set a warning period that gives enough time to book and complete the training. Due soon and overdue records should be visible before managers are asked for reports.
Use evidence where required
If a certificate or proof is needed, track evidence status as part of the record.
Decide whether attendance, a passed assessment, observed competence or another record is required. These are not interchangeable forms of proof.
SkillProof keeps mandatory training requirements, evidence and reports connected. It does not decide which training is legally mandatory for your organisation.
Official guidance used for this guide
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Training requirements depend on the work, risks and sector. The HSE gives general workplace guidance; NHS England's framework is for NHS organisations to adopt and adapt, not a universal course list.
- HSE: Provide information, training and supervision
- NHS England mandatory learning policy framework
- HSE: First aid at work
- CQC: Regulation 18, staffing
- NHS England: Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training
- Skills for Care: Care Certificate standards
- DfE: Keeping children safe in education
- DfE: Early years foundation stage framework
Questions this guide answers
What is the difference between statutory and mandatory training?
Statutory training is required by legislation or a legal duty. Mandatory training is required by an employer, regulator, contract, policy or risk control. The labels are sometimes used interchangeably, so record the actual source and owner of each requirement.
What mandatory training do care workers need?
CQC-registered providers must make sure staff have the training their role needs, including learning disability and autism training appropriate to the role. Most care providers also include safeguarding, moving and handling, infection prevention, fire safety and basic life support, and new starters usually complete the Care Certificate. Check each item against your own policies and CQC guidance.
How often does first aid training need renewing?
HSE guidance says first aid at work certificates are valid for three years. In early years settings, the EYFS framework requires paediatric first aid training to be renewed every three years.
How often should mandatory training be renewed?
There is no universal annual renewal rule. Use any stated legal, regulatory, contractual or professional requirement, then consider changes to the work, risks, equipment or guidance. Record who approved the cycle and why.
What should a mandatory training tracker show?
It should show the staff member and role, applicable requirement, completion and renewal dates, evidence status, current action state, manager or owner and the source of the requirement.