Training & Competency

Training and competency records document that personnel are qualified to perform regulated tasks. They include regulatory training certificates (hazardous material handling, food safety, chemical management), professional qualifications (engineering certifications, auditor credentials, quality manager certifications), competency assessments (skills verification, on-the-job training logs, proficiency tests), and organisational training matrices (course completion records across the workforce, renewal tracking). These records demonstrate that the organisation has ensured its personnel have the knowledge and skills required to maintain compliance.

Many compliance frameworks explicitly require that personnel performing regulated activities are properly trained and qualified. ISO management system standards (9001, 14001, 45001, 27001) require evidence of competence for roles affecting quality, environmental, health and safety, and information security performance. Food safety regulations (HACCP, FSMA, ISO 22000) mandate training for personnel handling food products. Chemical safety regulations require training for employees handling hazardous substances. Without documented training records, organisations cannot prove they have fulfilled these requirements. Training records also provide due diligence evidence — demonstrating that the organisation took reasonable steps to ensure competent performance of regulated activities.

Regulatory training certificates document training completion for specific regulated activities — hazardous material handling (ADR, IATA-DGR), food safety (HACCP, Level 2/3 food hygiene), chemical management (REACH, COSHH), and occupational safety. Professional qualifications include engineering charterships, auditor certifications (IRCA, Exemplar Global), quality manager credentials (CQE, CMQ/OE), and industry-specific certifications. Competency assessments include skills verification records, on-the-job training logs, proficiency test results, and competency matrices — evidence that personnel can actually perform the tasks they're trained on. Training matrices provide an organisational view of training coverage, expiry tracking, and renewal schedules.

Training certificates and competency records are uploaded to Sustalium and linked to the relevant compliance frameworks. A HACCP training certificate links to food safety frameworks (FSMA 204, HACCP compliance). Quality manager qualifications link to ISO 9001 and quality management evidence. Chemical handling training links to REACH and COSHH compliance. Sustalium tracks training expiry dates and sends alerts for refresher courses before certifications lapse. For organisations managing training at scale, Sustalium provides a consolidated view of workforce competency across all compliance frameworks — identifying gaps where additional training is needed before a regulatory deadline.

All ISO management system standards (ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 27001, 22000, 13485) require documented evidence of personnel competence for roles affecting the management system's performance. Food safety frameworks (HACCP, FSMA, EU food hygiene regulations) require training records for all food handlers. Chemical and substance compliance (REACH, CLP, COSHH) requires evidence of hazardous substance handling training. Medical device regulations (MDR, ISO 13485) require competence evidence for quality and regulatory affairs personnel. The EU AI Act requires evidence of AI literacy training for staff. Financial services regulations (DORA, Basel) require ICT and operational resilience training for relevant personnel. Pharmaceutical GMP requires evidence of ongoing training for all manufacturing and quality personnel.