In a world where time is money, health & safety is getting stricter & employers have not just a legal obligation to their employees but a huge moral one too, more and more of us are turning to e-learning as a primary method of delivering health and safety training. But, should we trust it and does it actually mean we are complying with the laws and legislation that fall under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA 74’) & Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR 99’)?

The short answer? Yes

The definition of training – the action of teaching a person a particular skill or behaviour.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the formal “classroom” method. What’s important though is selecting the right method. What works for one worker, department or team might not necessarily work for another.

The HSWA 74’ requires you to provide the necessary instruction, training and supervision, to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of your employees.

This goalsetting legislation allows employers the opportunity to identify their own training programmes for staff and put into place a plan that is appropriate for them based on the risk. The law in this case sets out what must be achieved, but not how it must be done. Don’t get me wrong, prescriptive legislation does exist in some areas, and this must be adhered to, but that’s a whole other topic in itself.

It is important that training is easy to understand, interactive, engaging and varied, and it’s even more important to check that it’s worked. It’s crucial to review all training that has been carried out. Was it suitable? Has it improved the delegates knowledge and understanding of the subject? Could it be improved? What is the delegates feedback?

Other key factors when thinking about not just e-learning but training in general are, who is it being delivered by? Is it approved? Who has written the material?
E-learning is practical, cost-effective, flexible, convenient and meets the regulations for statutory training, we find it an especially useful tool for refresher/renewal training – but only when written by approved & qualified industry experts. Make sure to do your research.

At Training First our e-learning courses are approved by major accrediting bodies and are constantly being updated to ensure they are providing you and your employees with an engaging and informative learning experience.

For more information contact one of our advisors today.