Asbestos Awareness
Course Overview
You need this course if your work could bring you into contact with asbestos-containing materials, even if you're not removing them yourself. This includes construction workers, maintenance teams, tradespeople working in older buildings, and anyone whose employer has a legal duty to manage asbestos risk under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 20122.
Course Content
Why asbestos awareness training matters
Asbestos was used extensively in UK buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000, in materials such as insulation, textured coatings, floor tiles, and roofing sheets. Anyone working in or around buildings from this period, including construction workers, electricians, plumbers, and facilities staff, can unknowingly disturb asbestos-containing materials during ordinary tasks like drilling, cutting, or removing fixtures.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place a legal duty on employers to ensure staff who could encounter asbestos hold current asbestos awareness training. This applies broadly across construction, maintenance, and utilities work, wherever someone might come into contact with asbestos-containing materials without being licensed to remove them.
For construction workers specifically, this course is often the first line of defence against unintentional exposure. Recognising the risk before starting work on an older building protects both the individual and anyone else on site.
What's included in the online asbestos course
Completing this course means you can recognise asbestos-containing materials and understand the legal duties around them, whether you're on site yourself or managing staff who are. The course covers:
● Properties and risks of asbestos exposure, so you understand why it's hazardous and how exposure happens
● The different types of asbestos, so you can recognise what you might encounter on site, including the materials and products it was commonly used in
● Avoiding the risks from asbestos, so you know what to do if you suspect asbestos-containing materials are present, and how to report it correctly
● An outline of asbestos legislation, so you understand your legal duties, or your staff's, under UK law
The course is built for people with no prior asbestos knowledge. It doesn't require any practical assessment or equipment, since it's a knowledge-based awareness course rather than a removal or handling qualification.
Who needs this course
Construction workers. Anyone working on refurbishment, demolition, or maintenance of buildings built or altered before 2000 should hold current asbestos awareness training, even if asbestos removal isn't part of their role.
Facilities and maintenance staff. Routine building maintenance, such as electrical work, plumbing, or fitting, can disturb asbestos-containing materials without warning if the person carrying it out hasn't been trained to recognise the risk.
Employers with compliance duties. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, employers are responsible for ensuring staff who could encounter asbestos are trained to recognise and avoid the risk. Booking this course for a team keeps that compliance trail documented.
Individual tradespeople. If a site or contractor requires proof of asbestos awareness training before you start work, this course gives you a recognised certificate you can hold and produce as needed.
Course Duration
1-2 hours
Course Certification
Approved by CPD & IIRSM
