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    All templatesTraining · 3 pages · Updated 19 October 2026

    Training Matrix Template

    Three-page training matrix on landscape A4: a header block (site or team, matrix owner, version and date, review date), a status-code key where you write your own codes, a role requirements table (role, required training or competence, refresher interval, who confirms competence), a matrix grid with people down the side and six training items across, each with a completed (date or code) column and an expiry column, an expiry and refresher actions list, a leavers and role-change check, and review sign-off. Completing a course is not competence, and a matrix cell is not a permit to work. No law is quoted as requiring a matrix, and the codes are examples.

    What's inside

    Page 1: details, codes and role requirements (landscape A4)

    1. Matrix details: site or team, matrix owner, version and date, next full review due, who is covered and who is tracked elsewhere (for example contractors), and where the evidence behind each entry is kept
    2. Status codes: example codes R (required), C (completed, write the date), E (expired), N/A (not required for the role) and an optional D (due soon, inside a window you choose), with what to write in the cell, and a box for the codes you actually use
    3. Role requirements: for each role the required training or competence, the refresher interval and why, who confirms competence, and which items are not required and who decided

    Page 2: the matrix

    1. Training matrix: person (name or role), role, then six training or competence items, each with a Completed (date or code) column and an Expires column; one example row and eleven blank rows. Copy the page when you have more people

    Page 3: actions, changes and review

    1. Expiry and refresher actions: person, item, expiry date, the action to take, owner and due date, done on, and who checked the cell
    2. Leavers and role-change check: date, person, the leaver or new role, requirements added or removed, row updated or closed, task owner told, and access and authorisations reviewed
    3. Review and sign-off: cells checked against evidence, gaps and expiries found, changes to codes or intervals, review dates, and signatures of the matrix owner, a manager and the task owner

    The code letters, the headings and the example rows are examples to change.

    What requires or shapes this record

    No source opened for this page requires a training matrix by name or prescribes a layout for one. They set duties about training itself. In Great Britain, regulation 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 asks an employer to take employees' capabilities into account when giving them tasks and to provide adequate health and safety training on recruitment and when risks are new or increased, for example after a transfer, a change of responsibilities, new equipment or a new system of work, repeated periodically where appropriate. Article 12 of the EU framework directive asks the employer to ensure each worker gets adequate training on recruitment, on a transfer or change of job and when new equipment or technology arrives, and that workers from outside undertakings have in fact received appropriate instructions. For one task, truck operation, 29 CFR 1910.178(l) in the US asks for operators who are competent as shown by training and evaluation, sets refresher triggers and an evaluation at least every three years, and asks for a certification with dates. HSE says training records help you decide if refresher training is needed, and that supervision helps monitor whether training worked. Which duties apply depends on your country, sector and work. A matrix is one way to keep these dates in view, and a completed one does not show that a duty is met. This page is general information, not legal advice.

    • Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242), regulation 13, Capabilities and training (Great Britain, read on legislation.gov.uk on 19 October 2026)

      The regulation is marked as applying in England, Wales and Scotland. Paragraph (1) says every employer shall, in entrusting tasks to employees, take into account their capabilities as regards health and safety. Paragraph (2) says the employer shall ensure employees are provided with adequate health and safety training on being recruited, and on being exposed to new or increased risks because of a transfer or change of responsibilities, new work equipment or a change to equipment in use, new technology, or a new system of work or a change to one. Paragraph (3) says the training shall be repeated periodically where appropriate, adapted to take account of new or changed risks, and take place during working hours. It names no record, no matrix and no interval. That is why the form has role requirements, a column for each item's expiry and a check on transfers and changes of role. The regulation does not say what shows that a person is capable.

    • HSE, Provide information, training and supervision: 'Decide what training and information you need' (updated 15 January 2026) and 'Supervise your workers' (updated 28 March 2024) (Great Britain, guidance)

      The first page (this URL) says that keeping training records will help you decide if refresher training is needed, that staff will need extra training if you get new equipment or your working practices change, and that new recruits and people changing jobs or taking on extra responsibilities are among those with particular training needs. The second page (https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/training/supervision.htm) says good supervision can help you monitor the effectiveness of the training people have received and whether employees have the necessary capacity and competence to do the job, and that supervisors should be able to check that contractors' work is being done as agreed. These pages are guidance for small businesses, not law. They are the reason the form keeps role requirements, expiry dates and a leaver and role-change check, and asks someone to confirm competence rather than a course alone.

    • Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work, Article 12, Training of workers (EU, read on EUR-Lex on 19 October 2026)

      Article 12 says the employer shall ensure that each worker receives adequate safety and health training, in particular as information and instructions specific to the workstation or job, on recruitment, on a transfer or change of job, and when new work equipment, a change in equipment or new technology is introduced. The training is to be adapted to new or changed risks and repeated periodically if necessary. The employer shall ensure that workers from outside undertakings working in the undertaking have in fact received appropriate instructions about the health and safety risks of their activities there. Training is not at the workers' expense and takes place during working hours. This is a framework directive, which member states put into national law. The form's field for people tracked elsewhere and its leaver and role-change check follow these triggers, and the directive does not name a record or a layout.

    • 29 CFR 1910.178(l), Operator training, in Powered industrial trucks (US OSHA, text from the eCFR as of 15 October 2026)

      The paragraph applies to powered industrial truck operators. It says the employer shall ensure each operator is competent to operate a truck safely, as demonstrated by the successful completion of the training and evaluation it specifies, and that training combines formal instruction, practical training and an evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace. Refresher training follows an unsafe observation, an accident or near miss, an evaluation that shows unsafe operation, assignment to a different type of truck, or a workplace change that could affect safe operation, and an evaluation of each operator is conducted at least once every three years. The employer certifies that each operator has been trained and evaluated, with the operator's name, the date of the training, the date of the evaluation and who did either. This is one rule for one task, not a general rule for all training. It is used here to show that competence is demonstrated by an evaluation and not by attendance, and to show what a dated entry can hold.

    Each source checked on 19 October 2026. Not legal advice; check the text in force for your site.

    Field by field

    Use one matrix per site or team, with the same code letters on every page. The headings, the codes (R, C, E, N/A and D) and the example rows are ours and can be changed. The grid holds dates and short codes, and the evidence behind them stays in your own files: a cell points at evidence, it is not the evidence. Name the items in the grid after your role requirements table so the two stay in step.

    Site or team
    Why: A matrix is only as current as the people who keep it. Naming the site or team shows who the entries cover and keeps a second site's people out of the grid.
    Common mistake: One matrix for the whole company that nobody on a shift can see or update.
    Matrix owner
    Why: Someone must own the layout, the codes and the review, so the grid is kept in step with the role requirements. The sources name no owner for a matrix, so this is your own choice.
    Common mistake: Naming a department instead of a person, so no one chases the expiry list.
    Version and date
    Why: The codes, the items or the requirements will change over time. A version and date show which rules a printed copy was kept under.
    Common mistake: Overwriting the old grid with no date, so an earlier entry cannot be matched to the rules in force at the time.
    Status codes in use
    Why: The form offers example codes and asks you to write your own. A D window such as 60 days is a choice of yours, and writing it down means everyone reads the same code the same way.
    Common mistake: Using Y and N, or colours, with no written meaning, so two people read the same cell differently.
    Required training or competence
    Why: Each role needs its list written once. Regulation 13 asks the employer to take capabilities into account when giving tasks, and the list shows what you decided the role needs.
    Common mistake: A different list per person, so two people in one role are held to different standards.
    Refresher interval
    Why: Regulation 13 says periodically where appropriate and Article 12 says if necessary, so the interval is a decision with a reason: a maker's instruction, a rule, a risk assessment or your own history. HSE says records help decide if refresher training is needed.
    Common mistake: Copying one interval to every item, for example three years from the US truck rule, which sets it for one task only.
    Who confirms competence
    Why: Competence is judged, not just attended. 1910.178(l) asks for an evaluation of performance in the workplace for truck operators, and HSE says supervision helps check whether training worked. Naming the role that confirms it keeps a course certificate from standing in for the judgement.
    Common mistake: Recording the trainer's name only, so no one is responsible for judging whether the person can do the task.
    Person (name or role)
    Why: A row can be one named person or a role that several people fill. Naming people makes dates personal data, so keep it to what you need and say how long you keep it.
    Common mistake: Rows for roles only, so an individual's expired date cannot be found.
    Training or competence item
    Why: Each column is one thing a role needs: a course, a licence, a workplace evaluation, an induction. Naming it as in the role table keeps the grid and the table in agreement. Add a column for a new item rather than reusing one.
    Common mistake: A column called 'safety training' that hides what has and has not been done.
    Completed (date or code)
    Why: Holds the completion date, or a code where there is no date yet (R, N/A, E). A date lets a reader see how old the entry is. 1910.178(l) asks that a certification carry the dates of training and evaluation.
    Common mistake: A tick with no date, which cannot warn you of anything.
    Expires
    Why: The expiry date is what the matrix is for: it shows what is about to lapse. For items with no expiry, say so or write the review date you chose.
    Common mistake: Leaving it blank for a licence that does expire, so the cell stays green after the date has passed.
    Action to take
    Why: A lapse or a due date needs an action: book it, assess it, or restrict the task until it is done. The decision on the task belongs to whoever assigns the work, not to the matrix.
    Common mistake: Writing 'expired' with no action, owner or date.
    Owner and due date
    Why: An action with no named owner and date is a note. Setting the date before the expiry date leaves time to act.
    Common mistake: A due date after the expiry date, so the person is expired before the action falls due.
    Leaver or change of role
    Why: Regulation 13 and Article 12 both name a transfer or change of job or responsibilities as a point at which training is needed, so a change of role must update the person's row and a leaver's row should be closed so it does not look current.
    Common mistake: Moving a person to a new role and leaving the old requirements in the grid, or leaving a leaver's row green.
    Requirements added or removed
    Why: A new role may add items and drop others. Writing what changed, and who agreed it, shows why a cell appeared or went N/A.
    Common mistake: Setting a new item to N/A without saying who decided.
    Cells checked against evidence
    Why: A matrix is only a summary. Checking a sample of cells against certificates, assessments or sign-in sheets shows whether the dates in the grid are true.
    Common mistake: Reviewing the percentage of green cells and not the evidence behind them.

    Worked example

    IllustrativeA matrix extract for an invented depot: four people, four items, checked on 1 October 2026 (invented people, dates and rules)

    PersonRoleTruck evaluationFirst aid at workManual handlingSite induction
    Operator ATruck driverC 12 Nov 2023, expires 12 Nov 2026. D: due in 42 daysN/AC 3 Feb 2026, expires 3 Feb 2029C 5 Sep 2022, no expiry
    Operator BTruck driverE: done 20 May 2023, expired 20 May 2026N/AR: not yet doneC 9 Jan 2024, no expiry
    Operator CTruck driverC 2 Mar 2025, expires 2 Mar 2028N/AC 3 Feb 2026, expires 3 Feb 2029C 14 Apr 2025, no expiry
    Shift lead DShift leadC 15 Jan 2024, expires 15 Jan 2027C 10 Jun 2024, expires 10 Jun 2027C 3 Feb 2026, expires 3 Feb 2029C 5 Sep 2022, no expiry
    Count on 1 Oct 202616 cells, 3 N/A, 13 apply2 valid, 1 due soon, 1 expired1 valid3 valid, 1 required4 valid
    Action (section 5)Owner: shift leadBook A before 12 Nov 2026. Evaluate B by 30 Oct 2026; until then the shift lead decides what B drivesNoneBook B by 30 Oct 2026None

    10 of the 13 cells that apply are valid (1 due soon, 1 expired and 1 required make the other 3), which is about 77%. That figure hides that the expired cell is a truck evaluation, so read the cells, not only the percentage. The intervals of three years, the 60-day window and the dates are this invented firm's own choices, not rules. A valid cell shows a record: it does not show that Operator C is competent today or permit any task, and the matrix does not decide whether B may be rostered on a truck. That decision stays with the shift lead, on the task and the supervision.

    When a spreadsheet stops being enough

    A spreadsheet or a printed grid works for one team and one owner. It stops working when people and training items multiply across sites, when the dates must warn someone before they lapse, when the evidence behind a cell (a certificate, an assessment) has to be found, and when a transfer, a start or a leaver has to change a person's requirements the same day.

    A software record can hold the requirements by role, work out the status of each person's item from its dates, send a reminder before an expiry and list the gaps by site, team or item. It can hold the evidence beside the entry and keep a history of who changed what. It can also be read by the people who assign work, so a lapsed item is seen where the task is given. Ask how a change of role updates the requirements, what the tool shows for a person with no recorded evidence, how it handles a contractor's workers, and what personal data it stores and for how long.

    The list below applies the rule used by the safety training software guide: a sourced training, competence or recurring-requirement capability. Nothing in it shows that a product holds your own roles, intervals or evaluations, so load a copy of your matrix in a demonstration.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Training Management” and also “Safety Management”, “EHS Management”, “ISO Management”, “Construction Safety” or “Employee Training”, with a sourced training, competence or induction capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 8 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.